I can’t force churches to pay tax – Chieftaincy and Religious Minister-designate

The Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister-designate Ebenezer Kojo Kum has disclosed that no law exists to compel churches to pay tax.

The issue of religious institutions paying taxes is one that has been waged over the years.

Some people are of the view that churches make profit from their activities and must be compelled to pay taxes on the revenues they accrue.

Others belong to the school of thought that says that churches and other religious bodies should not pay taxes.

Answering a question on the topic during his vetting, Ebenezer Kojo Kum disclosed that he has no plans of changing the existing phenomenon which does not mandate the churches to pay taxes and revenues they generate.

He stated that the only time churches should be made to pay taxes is when they venture into different businesses.

“Churches, when they operate as churches are not amenable to pay taxes,” he told Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

He also noted that “when Priests or members of religious bodies receive salaries or remunerations, they’re supposed to pay income tax on those salaries.”

“But to ask them to pay taxes based on the other work that they do, which is unrelated to religious activities, the law permits those payments to be made,” he said.