Question:

What do the scholars and experts of religions say regarding government taxes which are applied on our businesses, produce, land, accommodations, and homes which we have earned solely through our own efforts. The government made no contribution to these assets of ours.

Answer:

All perfect praise is for Allah ﷻ, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah ﷻ, and that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger.

It is an established fact in Islamic jurisprudence that taxes are a selected amount of money that the government deducts from people’s properties, businesses, and earnings. The income from these taxes is then used for services provided to the public. These taxes can change depending on the states circumstance. The state will establish the amount of taxes according to its country’s needs, which will provide for domestic services for the good off all.

If in the state’s general budget there is a discrepancy between the country’s profit and expenditure, where the expenditure is more than the country’s profit then it is in a loss. To compensate for this, alternative means must be adopted to balance things out. Taxes are a way to alleviate the situation.

To conclude, taxes are the right of the government. It is the citizens responsibility to contribute. To try to avoid this by paying a bribe or fraud is impermissible.

And Allah ﷻ knows best.

This fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari