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Religious bodies are to pay tax on investments - Commissioner
Accra, May 5, Ghanadot/GNA
- Major Daniel S. Ablorh-Quarcoo (Rtd), Commissioner
of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Tuesday said
religious bodies that engaged in
activities of trade, employment or investment are taxable under
the tax law.
"For example, where religious bodies which have properties rent
out or leases part of the property or
the whole property and collects rent,
the income accruing to the religious body is considered as
income from investment and therefore taxable."
Maj Ablorh-Quarcoo said this at a day's seminar organized
jointly
by IRS and the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service on income tax laws
for
religious bodies with the theme: "Render unto Caesar the things
that
are Caesar's."
Some of the topics treated were "obligations of religious bodies
in Ghana's taxation" "role of the Value Added Tax Service in Tax
Administration in Ghana" and "overview of the tax system and Tax
Administration in Ghana".
Maj Ablorh-Quarcoo said the revenue agencies greatly appreciate
the zeal of the religious bodies in
complementing the effort of government in
the development process through the establishment and
running of first and second cycle and
health institutions."
He said, however, they have observed that a number of religious
bodies have taken advantage of the
fact that incomes earned by religious
bodies were exempted from tax.
"Section 94 defines an exempt organization to mean a person (a)
who or that is and functions as: i. a
religious, charitable or educational
institution of a public character (b) a body of persons formed
for the
purpose of promoting social or sporting amenities."
The Commissioner said; "This means that a religious, charitable
or educational institution which is not of a public character is
not
exempt from tax on any income earned by that institution and
therefore
subject to tax."
Maj Ablorh-Quarcoo stated that a religious leader who writes
religious books and put them on sale on the market and religious
body
which decides to buy vehicle to run
transport or buys a block making machine or does an
investment in a bakery; whatever income that were accrued
from these transactions were taxable.
In his presentation, Mr Kwasi Bobie Ansah of IRS urged religious
bodies
to disclose all their incomes that are not related to their core
function of providing ecclesiastical services and accordingly
pay
taxes on them.
He quoted the Bible saying; "James 4:17: Therefore, if one knows
how to do what is right and yet does
not do it, it is a sin for him."
GNA
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