Accra, April 30, GNA - The Christian community on Sunday called on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to come out immediately and clarify the issue concerning the payment of taxes and not to use the churches as a scapegoat for lapses in the tax administration in the country.

The IRS should handle the issue very fairly and transparently without presumptions and must extend its educational programmes to other professional bodies.

The Ghana News Agency on Sunday visited a number of churches within the Accra municipality for their comments following the recent publications in the media by the IRS on the payment of taxes by the churches.

Most of the churches said they had been honouring their tax obligations on all incomes, adding that since the publication, they had invited IRS for discussion to find out about other businesses within the churches that need to be taxed.

They, therefore, express indignation about the blanket statement by Mr David Adom, Commissioner of IRS that most people operating in the churches assume that their incomes are not subject to tax.

Mr Adom in the publication said, "It is even doubtful whether those who pay, declare their total income." He said the inference is that these leaders have other sources of income that they are not declaring, adding that all gifts worth fifty thousand cedis and above must be declared for the appropriate tax to be impose on them.

Mr Alexander O. I. Sackey, a Deacon at the Faith Independent Baptist Church at Kotobabi, was of the view that where moneys generated are used for community development and social amenities such as schools, they should not attract tax.

The Reverend Faith Odonkor, head pastor of Harvest Chapel International at Abeka, said the church should not be seen as the only target for the widening of the tax net. He, however, advised the churches to keep proper accounting records for the avoidance of doubt about their declaration on incomes for tax purposes.

"It is important for the churches to know that they are stewards and it is expected of them to be faithful in all things including their civic responsibilities to the government and God", he said.

Rev. Odonkor said the church provides the emotional and spiritual balance for the social-economic development of the nation. Rev. Victor Abbey, a pastor at Osu Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, said that if the churches have other income-generating activities that are subject to tax the leaders must faithfully declare them. He called for honesty in the payment of taxes to help speed up the socio-economic development of the country.

The other churches visited, expressed similar position and tasked the IRS to intensify its public educational campaign on the need to honour tax obligations.