Inside Gov’t New Policy on Collected offertory in Church
“Government taxes taxable income. A giving in church or mosque is not an income. It is developmental money,” he explained.
In the Government’s new policy, it will be mandatory for religious organizations to account for offertory or any contributions made by devotees in places of prayer and worship.
It should be noted that the move started far from April 2016 when Directorate for Ethics and Integrity (DEI) in the Office of the President embarked on the development of a National Policy for Religious and Faith Organizations (RFOs).
In the draft policy which is currently undergoing validation, seeks to enhance collaboration between RFOs and government- and to promote their full participation in enhancing social service delivery, economic development as well as accountability.
According to Mr Alex B. Okello, the permanent secretary at the Directorate for Ethics and Integrity, the policy dictates there should be transparency when dealing with public resources in prayer centers.
“The biggest confusion which has been going all over the country, people think that a policy is a law. The policy just says let there be transparency in any religious institution. How you put that transparency measure in your institution is up to you,” he clarified.
“They (religious leaders) said we want to tax the money. No! We want those resources that believers give to be used properly,” he said while meeting religious leaders from Lango Sub-region in Lira City on Tuesday.
“Government taxes taxable income. A giving in church or mosque is not an income. It is developmental money,” he explained.
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