Ghana mulls taxes on religious materials, anointing oil, stickers, others
As build up to cut out a sizable quantum of wealth generated by religious bodies for government use, breakthrough is underway in Ghana as the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Emmanuel Kofi Nti, has come up with framework to tax religious merchandise including stickers advertisement, anointing oil and special handkerchiefs sold by churches and pastors.
Business Hilights Ghana Bureau chief recalls that the agency had for months been considering a review of taxable activities by churches.
Explaining more on a Joy TV News, Kofi Nti made it clear that the only church revenues exempted from the planned taxes are offering and tithes, stressing that “The man of God; is he not an individual? And is he not accountable to the state for his tax obligations? There is an opportunity for us to look at it.”
According to him, “The sticker of a popular pastor in Ghana, Bishop Danel Obinim would be taxed accordingly because it is income to him (Obinim)?”
In one of his recent remarks, Ghanaian President, Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave his backing for churches in the country to be taxed, grounding his position on the fact that churches have now moved into the realms of wealth creation and prosperity, rather than charity.
