Regarding Q.3431, is it permissible for one to declare 'I have no income' when he HAS an income?
Question
If one earnes $500 a month and does not reveal it to a government when he is expected to, it is equivalent of saying to the government,'I earn nothing'. If one does not reveal one part of his income to a government and reveals one part as his full income, is it not a lie? For example, if one earnes $500 a month and reveals to the government only $250 as his monthly income, he will be telling the government that he earnes $250 a month. Which is, ofcourse, a lie because he does not earn $250, he earnes $500 a month. Please kindly answer in detail. Please note that evading tax is a form of corruption, under any type of government.
Answer
The first point to be born in mind is that not all taxes can be termed as unjust.
The government of a country has the right to demand some form of taxes from its citizens. After all, they do enjoy many of the public conveniences provided by the government. The citizen should thus contribute to such amenities.
Some people would counter this by complaining of the poor quality of services provided by the government. While we do accept that the level of services leaves much to be desired, putting emotional arguments aside and viewing the situation rationally, we cannot deny that such services do exist, and have to be funded.
The fuqaha have mentioned that the government has the right to impose public projects on the populace. By way of example, if an area requires a dam, the government can impose upon the community that will benefit from dam to fund the building of the dam. Therefore, it can be understood that in principle, the government has a right to claim for the public amenities provided.
On the other hand the taxes demanded by government may be exorbitant. It is quite clear that presently governments squander large amounts of money, and corruption is rife. A certain degree of the taxes demanded are no doubt unjust.
The crucial question that arises is that what fraction of taxes can be said to be legitimate, and what portion unjust? What formula can be applied to determine these ratios?
Shaikhul Islam Mufti Taqi Uthmaani Saheb has conceded that there is no magic formula to solve this problem. His suggestion, which appears to be the most equitable solution, is that each person should use the best of his/her discretion, and fix an amount that he/she perceives to justly reflect a fair amount that he/she owes the government for the amenities provided. It is largely a matter left up to the conscience of the individual.
The issue is not straight forward concealing one's income. Rather, it is in the context of government corruption.
and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Moulana Imraan Vawda
FATWA DEPT.
CHECKED AND APPROVED CORRECT: Mufti Ebrahim Desai
- Answered by
- Moulana Imraan Vawda
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