MUI Proposes Zakat as Tax Credit for Companies

The Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU) Chairman KH Yahya Cholil Staquf, known as Gus Yahya, has stated that there is no specific norm in Islamic law prohibiting corporate zakat from being used as a tax credit. “Yes, actually from a sharia perspective, there is no specific norm about that,” Gus Yahya said at the PBNU Central Office in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/7/2026). He explained that the matter depends entirely on the government’s regulations. According to him, it could be implemented as there is no rule in Islam forbidding corporate zakat from becoming a tax credit. “If needed, it can be done. Actually, if it isn’t, there’s also no specific norm regulating this issue,” Gus Yahya stated. Previously, the National Sharia Board of the Indonesian Ulema Council (DSN MUI) proposed that zakat be recognised as a full tax credit, rather than merely a tax deduction as currently practised. “If we talk about economic growth with zakat, it doesn’t mean the wealth disappears. The larger the company, the greater its zakat. The more zakat distributed, the greater the public’s purchasing power, which ultimately drives the economy,” said DSN MUI Chairman Cholil Nafis.