'Zakat' plan questioned

'Zakat' plan questioned

The government's plan to make zakat (Islamic alms) tax
deductible starting next year has not been greeted with any
euphoric show of rejoice from the Muslim community.

The absence of any reaction is understandable from various
points of view. Many Muslims already do their religious duty
without expecting reimbursement from any party because the
obligation has become a way of life. Moreover, many people
believe that doing business with the taxation office should be
avoided at all costs, because once you set foot in there you will
likely be targeted for a bit of dirty business. At the very least
you will find yourself less than well respected.

Muslims, according to the new regulation, should pay their
alms at offices set up in every kecamatan (subdistrict), or at an
office sanctioned by the government. Paying religious alms at a
government agency? The government will obviously have to take
great pains to persuade Muslims of its good intentions.

If the Muslim Charitable Donations Board (Bazis), run by the
Jakarta administration, has never been audited by a public
accountant, much less reported its financial position for the
last two decades, how can people be sure that the board can be
trusted to manage zakat funds? The fact that President Megawati
Soekarnoputri will officiate the establishment of Bazis offices
nationwide on Monday does not give ample reassurance.

Some taxpayers may have waited for the day that they could
claim alms payments on their tax returns -- especially the not so
privileged members of society -- because they felt that they were
already taxed beyond their capacity to pay, as though the
government had been unaware that they also had to shoulder the
obligation to pay zakat. Over the years people have donated
directly to the charity of their choice. For example, a person
might donate to an organization that helps educate the poor,
thereby helping someone finish school who otherwise would not
have had the chance.

The first question that emerged after hearing of the new
policy is why the government has singled out the Muslim community
when it is well aware that followers of other creeds also pay
religious donations. The reason might be that Islam has the
clearest and most complete religious alms policy. In Islam, the
wealthy are obligated to donate a certain amount of their wealth,
which includes jewelry, money, trade and business, and services.
Even a grant or any valuable object is liable to a 2.5 percent
donation once it lawfully becomes yours.

The government in 1999 issued a law on zakat with the aim of
managing it in the best possible way, including the planning,
collection and distribution of zakat. In short, it strived to
encourage Muslims to pay alms with the highest degree of
discipline. In the past, the collection of zakat has been done
voluntarily by certain agencies in the provincial administration,
Jakarta, for example.

The announcement that zakat will soon be tax deductible has
been praised but at the same time criticized by legislators from
a Christian-based party, which has urged the government to apply
the same policy to non-Muslims who also donate to religious
organizations according the teachings of their respective
religions.

The idea is worth support from everyone, notably the
government, in order to provide equal treatment for every
citizen. It is not too late to change the ruling on the tax
deductibility of zakat to include donations to charities of other
denominations. By so doing, the government would be stepping up
its effort to combat poverty.