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Fatwa CenterWhen it is permissible to evade taxes
Question
Assalamualaikum, Please answer as soon as possible as closing date is near. We are to pay tax, but if we show Rent Receipt we get some tax rebates. I donot own a house, I live in my fathers house. I give 80% of salary to him. Now to get the tax rebate, I made a LEGAL document which shows I am paying him rent and he gave me VALID receipts also with his signature. The transactions are valid (I give him money more than I showed as rent) and the documents are valid, only thing is that at the time of giving money my intentions would not have been one of giving rent. Now will this be considered as cheating for tax rebate. Also, we get Medical Benefits. We purchase medicine and we donot ask for receipts at that time. I know I puchased the medicines of X amount but I donot have bills. Now can I make a fake bill of this X amount (it will be fake bill not fake transaction) and submit that. Last one, if the taxes taken by govt are used by them in both halal and haram uses should we pay them. And even if its collected for halal end but becuase of rampant corruption much of that ends in pockets of profiteers/corrupt politicians-beaureaucrats should we still give tax. Eagerly waiting for response. Thanks
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The ruling of what you have asked about depends on the ruling of taxes themselves as some of them are permissible and should be paid and it is not permissible to look for ways to evade them. That is if the treasury of a country is unable to meet the needs and interests of the people and taxes are taken to meet such needs and fulfill those interests. Accordingly, it is not permissible to evade paying them through the tricks mentioned above nor through any other tricks. That is because charging taxes is one of the matters that the general interest requires and thus all should cooperate in it and comply with what may achieve it.
However, if those taxes are illegitimate in the first place, and the state takes them unjustly or spends them in illegal ways, then there is no harm to evade them through such tricks and the like to ward off oppression and remove harm with the available means. We have pointed this out in details in Fataawa 83695, 82392 and 85356.
Allaah Knows best.
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