Pay tax for what? Bishop Oyedepo reacts to
being named richest pastor in the world
Winners Chapel GO Bishop David Oyedepo who
recently turned 60, has reacted to the Forbes List of
World's Richest pastors where he was placed at No.1
with an estimated worth of about $150million.
Asked about Forbes' estimate of his fortune, Bishop
Oyedepo told Reuters that he doesn't know how
Forbes arrived at their figure but says he's blessed...
"For me, to have fortune means someone who has
what he needs at any point in time. I don't see
myself as having $150 million stacked up
somewhere. Whatever way they found their
figures, I am only able to say I am blessed by the
Lord."
Asked if churches should pay tax considering how
much they make, Bishop Oyedepo said;
"There is no single government input on this
premises. We supply our water, we make our
roads, then you ... say: 'Let's tax them'. For what?"

Pastors should pay tax??

But u do ur business,sorry I mean church services on government land and a government run economy.

Churches shouldn't pay tax.,...You guys should leave God's servant alone and mind una businesses nah

Mosque,do they pay tax too?

Abeg free the MOG

True! He does everything himself, so why pay tax?? I agree with you Bishop.
I hope you don't drive your flashy cars on the federal or state roads.
I hope you don't fly your private jets through the newly maintained airports.
I hope you don't benefit from any reforms whatsoever!
ETC, ETC.

It's baseless to give such reasons for not paying tax and ignorant to say the least. Churches shouldn't pay tax because they are NON-PROFIT organisations. It's what the tax policy says (Their affiliated BUSINESSES should however). But to say you won't pay tax because you provide "everything" doesn't fly Sir. We ALL do that brov!

Orinoco pulse!

orinocopulse:
True! He does everything himself, so why pay tax?? I agree with you Bishop.
I hope you don't drive your flashy cars on the federal or state roads.
I hope you don't fly your private jets through the newly maintained airports.
I hope you don't benefit from any reforms whatsoever!
ETC, ETC.

It's baseless to give such reasons for not paying tax and ignorant to say the least. Churches shouldn't pay tax because they are NON-PROFIT organisations. It's what the tax policy says (Their affiliated BUSINESSES should however). But to say you won't pay tax because you provide "everything" doesn't fly Sir. We ALL do that brov!

Orinoco pulse!

Well said brother, but I refuse to agree to the fact that churches are non profit organizations. They make a lot of profit through this. I believe every individual that gets a name for an organization should pay task except some NGOs.

phrancez:


Well said brother, but I refuse to agree to the fact that churches are non profit organizations. They make a lot of profit through this. I believe every individual that gets a name for an organization should pay task except some NGOs.

Well, it's tempting to refer to churches these days as PROFIT-MAKING organisations (what with the BILLIONS of cash inflow and outflow) and I don't blame you if you think so. The problem is, technically, if they are not SELLING goods or services, there are no REVENUES OR SALES (Hence, NO PROFIT). . . Technically. All the cash inflows are "donations" so it's hard to brand them as such. However, their affiliated businesses should be taxed (revenue from book, CD, merchandise sales etc.) Also, if their pastors are on salaries, I think they should be made to pay INCOME TAXES AS WELL.
I'm not a tax expert, but just my thoughts.

Orinoco pulse!

Truth is I don't mind if he doesn't pay tax cos if churches start paying tax then the mosques will start paying too and I don't see that happening at all. But his reason for not wanting to pay tax makes me wonder if he thought about the answer before he said it. There are many businesses that don't even use govt electricity at all not to talk of water and and other amenities. So they should stop paying tax too. Anyway, I believe he might be frustrated with govt and that's why he talked like that. But funny enough there are Nigerians that will rather die than accept that he went wrong with this answer. They are too scared to even think about it yet they are not scared of the hypocrisy Jesus Christ spoke about while on earth. It goes a long way to show that we worship these men and not God.