THE ZAMBIA Revenue Authority (ZRA) says workers on the pay as you earn (PAYE) scheme and faithfully pay tithe annually to their churches are eligible for refund by the authority.
ZRA Chipata revenue officer Kafuna Maboshe said as an incentive, the authority can refund faithful Christians who are good church stewards, but that most people did not know about the tithe refund.
Mr Maboshe said every citizen is obliged by law to pay tax to Government just like every Christian is obliged to return a faithful tithe to God.
He said this during a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) professions and business meeting at Lutembwe SDA church in Chipata on Sunday.
“Workers who are also Christians should know that ZRA refunds tithe. All you need is to produce your payslip which shows PAYE and you also need to bring receipts from your church which should show that you have been a faithful tither,” Mr Maboshe said.
He said just as PAYE is calculated on one’s gross income, the tithe should have been paid from one’s gross income, and should be from January to December of a particular year.
Mr Maboshe explained that the tithe refund is computed hence, those that tithe from their net salaries and do so periodically, may not be eligible for a refund.
He also explained to congregants that tax revenue that the ZRA collects is ploughed back into the community by the State through provision of public goods and services such as roads, hospitals and schools.
ZRA tax payer services officer Christine Zulu in response to participants’ concerns, said the authority is a user friendly institution, and misunderstanding comes from lack of awareness of its services.
In his presentation, Eastern Province National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) regional manager Elijah Mahamba said all salaried workers should be registered as NAPSA members.
Mr Mahamba said a member can be paid pension benefits if he or she attains the age of 55 years and has contributed to the authority for 180 months (15 years).
Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) facilitator Faith Banda urged church members to register their businesses and protect their innovations.
Ms Banda said emerging companies need to invest in name branding which is one of a secret in business success.
SDA East Zambia field pastor, Moses Banda said for any business to succeed, its owners need to anchor their principles on God’s stewardship values of integrity.
Convener of the meeting, SDA Chipata district mission pastor, John Phiri commended the facilitators and said the objective of the meeting was to encourage church members to be effective Christian stewards.
“…He also explained to congregants that tax revenue that the ZRA collects is ploughed back into the community by the State through provision of public goods and services such as roads, hospitals and schools…”
Another comedian
This is complete nonsense. ZRA will not refund you the tithe. Instead the tithe will be allowed as a deduction against gross income to arrive at tax payable. The effect is a 30%, or whatever your marginal tax rate is, of the tithe being the reduction on your tax payable. This incompetent ZRA officer is setting up tax payers for trouble.
#ChagwaMustFall
The dirtiest building in Lusaka is ZRA. Don’t they have money to paint it? Chinese can paint for them because Zambians are afraid of heights, they are good at underground work.
I really would love to work for ZRA as a tax accountant I believe I would whole heartedly work for mother Zambia in this department. I am ready to return home if I am given a job in ZRA. That was my dream while in Zambia.
First of all tithe in itself should be non refundable. If it is refundable then the definition of tithe is changed. That is just my opinion.
Deductible expenses should include, work related or contributions to community based NGOs, political donations upto a certain amount maybe. There are areas within church business that would allow deductions, e.g a orphanage run by church, or outreach programs to help street kids, women, hospitals etc by the church. Most churches seperate money meant for tithe and use it for gospel related business. Maybe if we add such…
…..Maybe if we add such definitions people would not feel guilty to get deductions. But to say get a deduction for tithe, umm! guys this is big and I would not advise. When you give tithe, it is a secret between you and God and now if you disclose your tithe and you want to have a deduction, ummm! gentlemen this issue is not goodo. Just my opinion
That is nice to hear but the issue is a Tithe is for the Lord and it will be good to If the ZRA and NAPSA could recognize to plough back to the Church which are struggling. I mean to assist them with funds for construction of Church Building since the Church is a partner with the government in many ways I can not explain. Without the Church today we would not have great peace we speak about.
It’s better for me to give money to beggars on our streets than to give it to useless Churches, false pastors and con-men calling themselves prophets.
Where really are we heading to? TITHE REFUND? What is that? Is it based on scripture or is it a man made thing? Why should someone want his tithe refunded? Please explain? This a new teaching and where is it coming from?
A tithe is an allowable expense like NAPSA, meaning before tax is calculated the two will be deducted and the balance will be taxed. The refund in this case will be the difference in what was paid without the tithe deductions and with tithe included.
This is supposed to be TAX refund and not tithe. It sounds good but it is not biblical. Mr Maboshe should not misguide and mislead the church to start reclaiming their tithe from Government. When did government become God? Tithe belongs to God and is none refundable.
Mr Kaluba,
I do not know how you marry the 2 definitions. First of all a Tithe is different from a Tax. A tax is paid to the Govt to so that they can run Govt programs effectively while a Tithe goes to the church.
Otherwise this call will create a loophole for tax fraud. people will claim tithe expense on all their incomes based on payslips produced. How much will the govt coffer remain with?
A tax is an obligation and Govt will come for you if you don’t pay
A tithe is a choice based on your belief therefore not to be called an expense. We give with happiness and joy. So my brother I think this should be non deductible. Again my opinion.
Roads, hospitals and schools are funded through the many loans obtained by PF, not through tax returns. He is cheating!
Personal donations to charities, education, healthcare expenses, child care expenses etc should also be tax deductible.
Tithe refund??????????
Lets not mix church things to National things
Nshayumfwapo iyi
I cant get a refund ine batiii
Simple. government should just start paying tithe for all employees. Because why should I pay tithe and then government refunds me? why did I tithe in the first place? to be refunded? This ZRA guy will be in trouble for misinforming the Christians
The idea of claiming tithe refund from ZRA maybe legal but is it biblically right? You give a tithe to God and then go back to claim it through ZRA? Giving a tithe to God is an act of obedience and reverence for His Word. Giving is also a way of showing love to God. Tithe belongs to God.
What kind of Kwacha loving greedy “god” is that who like to squeeze money out of poor peoples pockets!? If you ask me the mothafaka is not god. He/she is a man-made to enslave you and control you. (the masses)
Tithe is classified as donation in taxation as such it is reduced/deducted from chargeable income(Gross income less pension). The said deduction reduces the chargeable income, resulting in tax overpayment; the difference between the tax paid and tax payable after the deduction of tithe/donation becomes the tax refund.
The claimant should provide tithe receipts and a cummulative last payslip of the year, as attachments to the PAYE refund returns for the case to be processed. This is not a new tax law; those whose conscious are clear and have been suffering PAYE deductions on their income are free to claim such refunds.
TITHE itself is non refundable! what is refundable is PAYE on the tithe on income which was subjected to PAYE. Those who pay Tithe on Salary which is below the taxable threshold do not qualify for PAYE refund on Tithe.
The problem is not this guys, the problem should be how to convince the confused followers out of this mental captivity.
Ever wondered how those false pastors get stinking rich? They pocket your so called tithe in their own bank accounts. While you cannot even have a decent lifestyle..
True. These FAKE PASTORS are operating FAKE BUSINESSES and avoiding paying tax that all other people are obliged to pay.
This nonsense should be against the law. They are hiring out their premises for functions and bona fide companies cannot compete because of taxes!
It is a SCAM to defraud the Zambian taxpayers!
And you wonder why we do move forward…promoting tithing to churches that are neither accountable nor transparent. This is what religion does to you its self distraction.
Tithe is not refundable but how does the refund then come about? Tithe and any other donations to public benefit organisations(church in this case) are exempt from tax but what usually happen is that the accountant will tax your gross before removing the allowable deductions in this case tithe and pay you the net of your gross. At the end of the year you have the right to ask ZRA to recompute your taxes and confirm if your tax was collect in this case you provide evidence that you would need ZRA to consider and that will be: your copy of NRC,your Year To Date December payslip and proof of donation in this case receipt or letter then ZRA will recompute according to law and the tax that was overtaxed on you will be refunded. Only the tax component is refundable and not the Tithe.
Kapusa has explained it perfectly …Ba lusaka times misquoted and misunderstood Mr Maboshe….this is what happens when the media instead of listening to the presentation attentively they are busy making assumptions in thier mind!!..u couldnt even listen long enough to get his name right…SMH!!…get you facts ala .
What about us Hindus? We donate a lot to the state.Sancho
Tithe yena takwaba refund this is a fact.
I think the whole thing has been misunderstood. There is no tithe refund please, but jst like any other donation to charity or non profit making organisation our tax laws are considerate when it comes to taxing such donors. What is being refunded is tax, but the tithe remains intact. There is nothing wrong in that, just go and claim it.