Delegates at the on-going National Conference yesterday voted to enlist churches, mosques and religious organizations into the tax net.
The delegates in their deliberation on the report of the committee on religion also voted that federal and state governments should stop the sponsorship of Islamic and Christian pilgrimages.
However, a move to scrap Islamic and Christian pilgrims boards sharply split the delegates yesterday leading to an uproar and forcing the conference leadership to move the vote on the issue to today.
The decision to make religious bodies pay taxes came up when a delegate representing Civil Organisations, Mallam Naseer Kura in his contribution to the debate on the report observed that religious leaders were making much money and should be taxed.
Also in his contribution, a delegate representing the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Isaac Ighure frowned at the situation where according to him pastors and heads of churches make too much money with some of them owning private jets. “Some people buy private jets when people in their churches are suffering and living in abject poverty, they should be made to pay taxes,” he submitted.
At the resumed session after break, the issue of payment of tax by the churches, Mosques and other religious bodies came up and delegates unanimously voted for it and it carried that if the recommendations of the Conference sails through at the end of the exercise when presented before the National Assembly for ratification, leaders of religious bodies will now be subjected to paying of tax like other Nigerians, business men, government organisations and enterprises.
The delegates in their deliberation on the report of the committee on religion also voted that federal and state governments should stop the sponsorship of Islamic and Christian pilgrimages.
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| A Church in Nigeria. |
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| A Mosque in Nigeria. |
The decision to make religious bodies pay taxes came up when a delegate representing Civil Organisations, Mallam Naseer Kura in his contribution to the debate on the report observed that religious leaders were making much money and should be taxed.
Also in his contribution, a delegate representing the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Isaac Ighure frowned at the situation where according to him pastors and heads of churches make too much money with some of them owning private jets. “Some people buy private jets when people in their churches are suffering and living in abject poverty, they should be made to pay taxes,” he submitted.
At the resumed session after break, the issue of payment of tax by the churches, Mosques and other religious bodies came up and delegates unanimously voted for it and it carried that if the recommendations of the Conference sails through at the end of the exercise when presented before the National Assembly for ratification, leaders of religious bodies will now be subjected to paying of tax like other Nigerians, business men, government organisations and enterprises.
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