After being silent for a long time, the issue of zakat (alms) has sparked a heated debate once again. Kompas published two short articles about it on Aug. 27, 2010.
The first was about the efforts of Irfan Syauqi Beik, who represents the Department of Sharia in the Faculty of Islamic Economic Studies at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), to amend the existing 1999 Zakat Law, so that the zakat paid can be considered as a rebate on an individual’s tax liability.
On the other side, is Tjiptardjo, the director general of taxation, who opposes the idea.
Irfan, among others, argues that this policy will bring positive effects as it provides an incentive for zakat collection, and a fixed proportion of it would be allocated to the poor and needy.
In other words, it might expedite the process of poverty alleviation, since collected tax has not directly touched this segment of society at all.
Tjiptardjo’s objection is based on his view that taxation is more about the relationship among human beings (hablum minannas), while zakat is clearly classified as the relationship between a man and his God (hablum minallah). He believes these two relationships should be strictly separated.
The above debate simply indicates two different perspectives. However, the following view may help bridge the two different positions.
It is undeniable that the every country in this world strives to bring its people to so-called prosperity. No matter the method used (capitalism, socialism, etc), at the end of the day, all governments want their people live in prosperity. Indonesia is no different, as it is stated clearly in the 1945 Constitution.
More specifically, Article 34 of the Constitution stipulates vividly that the government is fully responsible for the country’s poor and needy, and its orphans.
However, the facts indicate the opposite. The government has so far failed to realize this responsibility. The problem of poverty in this country remains unsolved, although the country has celebrated its independence for the 65th time. It is shameful when compared to neighboring countries (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei), which gained their independence much later than Indonesia.
Yet, Indonesia is known to be much richer in many perspectives: Natural resources, islands, seas and their wealth, a large population, and so forth. It is said there is no such country in the world as rich and lucky as Indonesia, but Indonesians have never been ranked at a respected level globally!
In addition to the above facts, the argument raised by Tjiptardjo is weird as he refused to integrate hablum minallah and hablum minannas. Although this country is known to be secular in nature, many of its activities are commingled.
To name but a few examples: the recitation of prayers during the Independence Day celebration, the celebration of Nuzulul Qur’an (the first day the Koran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad), the holidays on religious occasions such as Idul Fitri, Christmas, Waisak and so on.
This is because most (if not all) of society are indeed religious, no matter which religion one believes in. To strictly separate these two relationships seems to be out of line with common practice.
Moreover, the concept and practice of charity or giving alms that are tax-deductible is widely practiced elsewhere. Secular countries like the United States of America, Australia and others have applied this much earlier than Indonesia.
For this reason, all parties should accept the amendment of the 1999 Zakat Law. Everyone should be realistic in understanding the philosophy and objectives of the notion of the amendment.
It should be seen positively as one of the efforts offered by Muslim society in general for the welfare of the country.
It sounds fair enough. The taxation office should think positively. No need to worry so much about a decline in the tax collected, since this would only be applied to individuals and not institutional taxpayers.
The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics, Muhammadiyah University, Yogyakarta.
Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/09/17/toward-a-tax-rebate-%E2%80%98zakat%E2%80%99.html - Sept 17, 2010
For your information, I do give hereunder both articles - they are in Bahasa Indonesia
Article 1 - Zakat Pengurang Bajak ?
Source : http://bisniskeuangan.kompas.com/read/2010/08/27/14154071/Zakat.Pengurang.Pajak - Aug 27, 2010
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Ketua Tim Program Studi Ekonomi Syariah Fakultas Ekonomi dan Manajemen Institut Pertanian Bogor Irfan Syauqi Beik mengatakan, kesejahteraan masyarakat akan meningkat jika zakat menjadi instrumen pengurang pajak.
"Jika kebijakan tersebut dapat dijalankan, maka dampak positifnya akan lebih besar," katanya dalam diskusi bertema "Sharing Informasi Pemberdayaan (SIP): Zakat Untuk Keadilan Sosial", di Jakarta, Jumat (27/8/2010).
Irfan mengatakan, ketika zakat menjadi pengurang pajak maka akan ada insentif dalam meningkatkan zakat sehingga ada proporsi yang pasti dalam pembagian zakat, yaitu kepada kaum dhuafa.
Ia juga berharap, Undang-Undang Pajak dapat dievaluasi agar proses integrasi akan berjalan dan negara akan terlibat lebih dalam lagi di pengelolaannya. "Karena masalahnya saat ini adalah egosektoral yang tinggi. Pajak merasa dimiliki oleh Direktur Jendral Pajak," ungkapnya.
Ia mengatakan, zakat memiliki peran dalam perekonomian, di antaranya sebagai alat redistribusi pendapatan dan kekayaan serta sebagai instrumen pengentasan dan pemberdayaan dhuafa.
Menurut dia, pajak sama sekali tidak ada manfaatnya untuk rakyat sehingga nilai humanisme zakat sangat diperlukan.
Agama lain, katanya, juga boleh mengusulkan dengan tujuan yang sama asalkan memang diperuntukkan untuk rakyat, mau di audit, dan melalui proses politik. Acara tersebut merupakan rangkaian kegiatan yang diselenggarakan oleh "Indonesia Magnificence of Zakat" (IMZ) dengan tujuan untuk memperkenalkan zakat sebagai salah satu cara meningkatkan keadilan sosial.
Article 2 - Ditjen Pajak Tak Setuju Zakat Jadi Pengurang Pajak
Source : http://bisniskeuangan.kompas.com/read/2010/08/27/13500396/Ditjen.Pajak.Tak.Setuju.Zakat.Jadi.Pengurang.Pajak - Aug 27, 2010
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Direktorat Jenderal Pajak tak sepakat bila aturan zakat mengatur pengurangan pajak. Direktur Jenderal Pajak Mochammad Tjiptardjo beralasan pembayaran zakat sama sekali tak terkait dengan pengurangan pajak.
Urusan kita dengan Tuhan, jangan dicampur dengan "hablun minannas"
-- Tjiptardjo
Seperti diketahui, Forum Zakat Nasional telah mengajukan revisi Undang-Undang Nomor 38 Tahun 1999 tentang Pengelolaan Zakat kepada DPR. Forum itu mengusulkan, pemberian zakat menjadi pengurang pajak penghasilan wajib pajak.
"Ketika diterapkan bahwa zakat bisa mengurangi pajak, ternyata sangat berpengaruh terhadap penerimaan zakat dan pajak," ujar Ketua Umum Forum Zakat Nasional Ahmad Juwaini.
Namun, Tjiptardjo menolak usulan itu. Dia keberatan jika pengurangan pajak dari penghasilan bersih setelah dikurangi zakat. "Masak bayar zakat disubsidi orang lain," ucapnya. (Irma Yani/Kontan)
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