Zakat and Tax; same things but why difference

[The Accountant]

You pay Zakat to help the poor. And you pay tax to help YOURSELF. Roads, security, medicine, public services etc are not paid for by Zakat. Your tax pays for them. So be a good citizen and pay both as per the law.

I am paying road tax for roads ... Medicines are only for poor in Pakistan so theyy can be financed through zakat ... All public services are charged ... Do you have any idea how much taxes are you paying ? I am paying 17% on my earnings ... My company is paying 32% ... On all the expenses we are paying between 13% to 19% ... So almost half of my earning are going in taxes and i am getting nothing ... We have taxes to the tune of european nations but we are getting services equivallent to african contries ...

So dont tell me what ia the purpose of tax ... My point of view was totaly based on technical and economic reference ...

Zakat is one which promotes business whereas tax is anti .growth untill and unless it is used in infrastruture projects which we are not ... All of our infrastructure are being financed through loans and irony is even loans are not being repaid ...

 

[Qutb-ud-din Aybak]

zakat is taken only from rich people.
tax is taken from every one directly or indirectly.
tax can be spent everywhere.
zakat can be spent only on poor.

 

[Zarvan]

Zakat is an Islamic alternative system of modern Tax collection system. More or less both have the same objectives but in nutshell both are directed for the welfare of masses, both enjoy the same type of importance but totally are pursued in different ways through different institutions and most importantly both have different status attached with them.
In any islamic society Zakat has been given the utmost importance and even the Islam has given itself so much importance by including this in the basic tenets of Islam i-e 5 Bunyadi Arkan of Islam like Toeed, Namaz , Roza , Zakat and Hajj. which clearly shows how much Islam has given importance to Zakat not only because of individual perspective but also because of the society and the administration point of view as well. unfortunately in almost all Islamic countries both are pursued side by side especially in Pakistan.
Tax is mandatory by law for every eligble person so has been backed by administration but on the other hand, Zakat has been left to the individual`s discretion, which should not be, and to some extent to forced Zakat like in case of bank`s saving accounts. Leaving aside all religious perspectives, the issue which i want to raise is from totally economic perspective. we know that the Importance of zakat so why do we pursue both side by side. By doing this we are actually causing double taxation and infact hurting the people`s will and confidence in tax collection system or vice versa. if somebody is paying tax then he thinks why he should pay Zakat or otherwise hence tax avoidance or zakat avoidance which both are negative for the individual and society as well. so my question is why should not we pursue one of these with full backing of Govt and religion in Pakistan? By doing so we can collect more revenues than the present collection because if the system would have backing of religion as well as Govt then we would likely to follow the one and only structure to fullfill our religious as well as moral and legal duty.
no doubt this system or topic requires research but for now it is for debate initiation.

your views are invited because i know which i dont know might someone other know or perhaps we can both know. so write your comment.

If you have read system of Zakat you would know it's totally different things.

 

[Bouncer]

We have taxes to the tune of european nations but we are getting services equivallent to african contries ...

Funny you should mention African and European countries because I have been to around 20 of them from the poorest to relatively well off. We Pakistanis love to hate our country. The roads, public hospitals and schools we have are light years ahead of the African countries you are quoting. Most of our country side enjoys paved roads and there is a school for every two or three villages at least. How these schools and hospitals are being run is a different story related to corruption and bad governance. But the money is still spent there. That's where your and my tax money is going. Zakat contributes nothing to these services.

So almost half of my earning are going in taxes and i am getting nothing

If you don't get molested by a foreign soldier, drive your car on a road, use electricity (even for a few hours every day) then you my friend are getting something. You can argue that its not worth the money you pay in taxes but you can't say you get nothing.

So dont tell me what ia the purpose of tax ... My point of view was totaly based on technical and economic reference ...

Right.

Zakat is one which promotes business whereas tax is anti .growth untill and unless it is used in infrastruture projects which we are not ... All of our infrastructure are being financed through loans and irony is even loans are not being repaid ...

My post was by no means saying Zakat is bad or tax is good. You should pay Zakat if you have the means. But you can't skip on taxes if you want to live in a civilized society.

 

[The Accountant]

Funny you should mention African and European countries because I have been to around 20 of them from the poorest to relatively well off. We Pakistanis love to hate our country. The roads, public hospitals and schools we have are light years ahead of the African countries you are quoting. Most of our country side enjoys paved roads and there is a school for every two or three villages at least. How these schools and hospitals are being run is a different story related to corruption and bad governance. But the money is still spent there. That's where your and my tax money is going. Zakat contributes nothing to these services.



If you don't get molested by a foreign soldier, drive your car on a road, use electricity (even for a few hours every day) then you my friend are getting something. You can argue that its not worth the money you pay in taxes but you can't say you get nothing.



My post was by no means saying Zakat is bad or tax is good. You should pay Zakat if you have the means. But you can't skip on taxes if you want to live in a civilized society.

This is pure missstatement of facts on ground ... The schools run by taxes paid are pathetic ... Students in these schools are no way comparable to what we have ... And what percentage of our total budget ia being paid for education ? You have been to european nation then what kindly do a comprison of tax rates vs benefits of ours and western nations ...

How you came to the conclusion that i hate my country ? Thats judgemental ... If i critisize my country's one system than i hate it ... Thats pathetic thinking ...

For your information tax being paid by me as higher than most of the parlimentarian of Pakistan and i am one of these individuals who files there tax returns ...

We are doing comparison of tax and zakat and i stated my point of view based on my experience ... By the way referring to my ID you are talking to someone considered as expert in field of finance accounts and taxation ... And based on my understanding zakat is a much better system of gov revenue as compared to taxation ...

 

[pak-marine]

OP comparing zakat and tax is like comparing apples and bananas

 

[Bouncer]

This is pure missstatement of facts on ground ... The schools run by taxes paid are pathetic ... Students in these schools are no way comparable to what we have ... And what percentage of our total budget ia being paid for education ? You have been to european nation then what kindly do a comprison of tax rates vs benefits of ours and western nations ...

How you came to the conclusion that i hate my country ? Thats judgemental ... If i critisize my country's one system than i hate it ... Thats pathetic thinking ...

For your information tax being paid by me as higher than most of the parlimentarian of Pakistan and i am one of these individuals who files there tax returns ...

We are doing comparison of tax and zakat and i stated my point of view based on my experience ... By the way referring to my ID you are talking to someone considered as expert in field of finance accounts and taxation ... And based on my understanding zakat is a much better system of gov revenue as compared to taxation ...

Read my post again.