Confab delegates want religious bodies to pay tax

Some delegates at the ongoing National Conference on Tuesday called for the imposition of taxes on religious institutions to generate more funds to care for the needy in the society.
The delegates made the call while making their contributions to the recommendations of the conference Committee on Religion in Abuja.
Isaac Ighure, representing the Nigerian Guild of Editors, said imposing taxes became necessary as religious bodies no longer contribute their required quota to human and economic development.
Ighure said religious bodies no longer preach spiritualism but materialism and prosperity.
He said: “What we need in this country is spiritual growth.
“When people grow spiritually, they are likely to love one another.
“Is it not strange that we have pastors who buy jets, mobile houses that they call jeeps while members of the congregation are wallowing in poverty?
“This needs to be corrected.
“May be they should set up a body to teach themselves how to preach spiritual growth.
“They should also be made to pay taxes because they are making so much money.
“I don’t know how much a jet costs but I know they are expensive.
“A man who is able to afford a jet should be able to pay taxes to the state to help the poverty-stricken members of their congregation.”
The NGE scribe said Nigerians had failed their religions.
Ighure added: “Islam and Christianity have not failed us.
“We the adherents have failed them.
“Both religions believe in love, fairness, justice and equity.
“But what do we adherents do?
“We have abused all of those values.
“I think we need to redefine our values to be in line with what those religions preach.”
Ighure said there was the need to start teaching love to the children from kindergarten and for the two religions to speak with one voice to correct the lack of trust between them.
Mallam Naseer Kura, representing the Civil Society Organisations, was also of the view that the business being run by religious organisations should be taxed.
Kura said: “The tax exemption being granted to religious bodies should be stopped by the Federal Government.
“They should be taxed because they are making money.”
Musa Elayo, representing the House of Representatives Forum, also pleaded that the elites in the society should stop using religion to cause loss of lives.
Dr. Dozie Ikedife, representing the South East, also recommended the need to regulate noise and sounds being generated by religious bodies especially at odd hours.
Ikedife said: “It has been established that excessive noise is dangerous to health.
“That is health hazard and pollution.
“We should have legislation to control avoidable, excessive loud noise from religious preachers who use megaphone to disturb the neighbourhood at odd hours with their loud sermon, music, hysterical noises.”
He also called for a recommendation to discourage or proscribe any religion or organisation that preaches or practices hate, attacking, killing or burning of property or abduction of people.
Ray Ekpu, representing the South-South, said that religions, families and schools have not done their jobs properly.
Ekpu said: “That is part of the reasons why the society is like this.
“These institutions ought to have done a lot more in curbing the evils that we have in present day Nigeria.”