HARARE – Zimbabwe recognises freedom of worship. However, a question baffling many Christian entities including The Aloe News is th...
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HARARE – Zimbabwe recognises freedom of worship.
However, a question baffling
many Christian entities including The Aloe News is the statement by Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority (Zimra) Commissioner-General Gershem Pasi their intentions to
tax churches to a Parliament portfolio.
But why is the
proposed taxation limited to churches – and not Rastafarians, Muslims and
African traditionalists?
Words by Derick Matsengarwodzi: media consultant,
author and founder of Aloe Media Group. Let us interact through: Facebook;
Email: derickmats@gmail.com; Blog: http://tinzwei.blogspot.com.
Customarily, taxes were confined to income,
Capital Gains, Withholding, Employees, and Value Added.
Show
us the buck
Pasi’s recent notice
will take effect from January 2016 – meanwhile the tax collector is fine tuning
the legislative modalities. And according to The Aloe News research, this
proposal is not confined to Harare. Other prominent churches beyond Zimbabwe remit
taxes for business transactions conducted within their confines.
While some churches
are already questioning the proposed law, fugitive Prophet Eubert Angel once
claimed he was worth, a cool ‘$60 million.’ He mentioned this in a backdrop of
an ailing economy. Added to this, he cruised in expensive wheels that many
people could only imagine of owning. Was Angel a self-made millionaire or he
benefited through his church ties?
During a business
seminar, Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa stated that he owned shares in UK-based concerns.
The flamboyant preacher is building a mammoth church that will accommodate
thousands after completion. During United Family International Church (UFIC),
The Aloe Media witnessed trade involving more than 10 000 congregates. Though
a portion belongs to him, how can one separate his savings from the church?
Magaya,
the ‘trillionare’
Following a
prerequisite visit by Zimra officials at his offices, Prophet Walter Magaya,
arguably the owner of the largest church in figures, said ‘they are after me’.
Here is a generous man who has donated large sums of money towards the needy. But
can churches really conduct a profitable business? While some founders are
hiding behind ‘donors’ who are said to pour finances into the ministry.
To explain it
further, Prophet Magaya attracts a 50 000 plus gathering every week.
Inside his service, he sells anointed oil, regalia and compact disks ranging
from $5 to $10 a piece. If these figures are combined with consultation fees
charged to meet the prophet at his lodges, equivalent to hoteliers where each
visitor forks around $250. This is what Zimra is targeting and not tithes and
offerings.
“We are not going to
tax tithes – we are not going to tax offerings. I think churches are doing
businesses. So it’s the church businesses that are going to be taxed… There is
money that belongs to the church,” revealed a Zimra official interviewed by The
Sunday Mail.
So
many whys?
Tinzwei understands
that Zimbabwe respects freedom of worship. Besides Christians, African Religion
Tradition (ART), Rastafarians, Muslims, Baai Faith just to mention a minority.
And if this is true, why then target churches and omit other religions
commanding a large following such as the Muslim community. While churches
collect tithes, what do other religions classify such donations and who is set
to benefit.
The biggest question
is: why is Zimra confining its revenue base towards church organisations,
whereas other religions are also engaged in business transactions that bring
revenue to their organisations.
Does it imply that
the Rastafarian or traditional ceremonies will not remit taxes when they also
make profit from their various gatherings? Are churches paying the price for
spreading the true word towards believers? Or is that churches have become
authorities attracting millions, an exercise that even politicians are now
failing to accomplish? – The Aloe News
• This text cannot be reproduced without prior consultation with the
author.
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