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Confusion over Hadi's plan to collect taxes from non-Muslims
KUALA TERENGGANU, Sat. - Confusion abounds over an announcement by Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang requiring non-Muslims to pay an additional income tax known as kharaj as well as zakat (tithe) on their economic activities. While Hadi's proposal means that non-Muslims may have to pay more income-based tax, chairman of the State Education, Dakwah and Syariah Committee, Harun Taib, has reassured non-Muslims they had nothing to fear as they were already paying taxes as required by the Federal Constitution. But if the kharaj is implemented, it will undoubtedly upset many. (Kharaj, introduced in the early days of Islam, was a land tax paid by non-Muslims whose lands had been conquered by Muslims. It was widely practised during the Umayyad Dynasty to encourage conversion.) (However, when the number of conversions rose, causing a reduction in tax collection, the law was amended.) Hadi, in explaining the need for kharaj and zakat said: "During the time of Prophet Muhammad, tithe was an important source of revenue for the Government. "This will be one of Terengganu's sources of revenue as well". The State Government, he said, had many ways to recover the revenue lost from the abolishment of toll collection at the Sultan Mahmud bridge and quit rent. "We know that millions of ringgit will be lost. However, we have ways to recover them and one way is through the collection of zakat." One other source of revenue is the RM550 million in petroleum and gas royalties which it receives annually. This makes Terengganu one of the richest States in the peninsula. Hadi said after a thanksgiving ceremony at the Pulau Rusa mosque that Harun would head a committee to formulate the law on zakat and other policies. Harun, when contacted later, said while zakat was compulsory for all Muslims, administrative problems had to be resolved before the money could be collected. "We will identify the authority concerned as well as those who must pay the tithe and those who should benefit from it. "If there is a need to formulate a new law, we will do it." Hadi said once the study on zakat and other taxes was completed, it would be tabled in the State Assembly. He will also hold discussions with Kelantan on the possibility of implementing the policy in both States |
