Church tax proposal vague – Rev. Asante

Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist of Church Ghana, has said there is not much clarity on the proposal to tax churches that are into commercial activities.

According to him, proponents of the church tax, the government, must come clear and provide clarity on the proposal.

He explained that churches, including the Methodist Church of Ghana, that operate business ventures, are already paying tax.

Similarly, he noted that pastors and staff of the Methodist Church pay income tax, therefore, the proposal, as far as he is concerned, is not new – thus necessitating clarity on government’s church tax proposal.

“My understanding of the government’s proposal is that if the churches engage in any business venture, they should pay taxes, but I am saying that we are already paying the taxes,” the Chair of the National Peace Council told Chief Jerry Forson on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM, Thursday, 30 August 2018.

He added: “In some of the churches, some pastors engage in real business, they are selling oil and other materials, which is a big commercial venture and I am sure that is what the government is talking about.

“I don’t think the churches are against the taxes because they have been paying taxes all these years, especially those that are into business ventures.

“I think there was an ambiguity in the proposal and that caused some of the churches to raise the concern that this is not new and that the churches are already paying taxes. We were wondering whether a new system was going to be introduced.”