Don't tax churches—Bishop

Followingthe resolution at the ongoing national conference that churches in the country should be taxed, the Bishop of Anglican Communion, Diocese of Ika, Delta Sate, Rt. Rev. P. I. Onekpe, has urged the Federal Government to dismiss the proposal, stressing that nothing tangible could be generated by taxing churches, as most churches in the country are non-profit making.

He said that the move will make the government unpopular, adding that those behind the proposal were “playing to the gallery.”
Onekpe called on the Federal Government to pursue and apprehend ‘oil bunkerers’ whose activities strongly work against the country’s economic interest.

He said: “If what is generated in the country is well harnessed, and those sabotaging the economy are checked, the government will have enough funds to better plan and manage the country, rather than seeing churches as a means to generate revenue.”

Speaking at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Boji-Boji Owa, Ika South Local Government Area, Delta State, on the sideline of the 13th Annual Diocesan Bible Study Conference of Ika Anglican Youth Fellowship, the cleric added that taxing churches would “make the government infamous.”

Noting that some churches are rich, and that some pastors buy private jets, he said that they are few, adding that most of the churches focus on preaching the gospel to win souls for Christ.

He said: “On what basis are you going to tax churches? It is true that some persons who are general overseers run their churches like business organisations and are buying private jets, building universities. But they are very few.

“If somebody establishes a university, there is a way to tax the university. How much are taxes from churches going to generate? You will run into unnecessary trouble if you tax churches.”