'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.