Taxman targets Indian churches

Dec 09, 2016

By Bijay Kumar Minj
Income tax officials have asked dioceses and convents to account for banned bank notes in their possession which Church leaders see as an attempt to discredit and harass them.

Since 500 and 1000 rupee bank notes were withdrawn overnight on Nov 8 in a move to choke the black market, tax officials have been rifling through the accounts of dioceses in Goa and institutions in Pune.

Church officials in Goa were scrutinised after it became clear that some parishes there were helping people exchange banned bank notes for valid currencies. Some Indians have been struggling to cope after the withdrawal dried up the cash flow in the country.

“You and I may see this as the act of a Good Samaritan, but officials may raise queries,” said Father Valeriano Vaz, procurator of Goa and Daman Archdiocese.

Vicar General Fr Malcolm Sequeira (pic) of Poona Diocese, based in the Indian city of Pune, told ucanews.com that they received the tax notice on Nov 18, asking for details of their liquid assets. The notice “hurt us because it questioned our integrity,” he said.

“We asked all our parishioners to deposit the old notes to the bank and not to give them to the church during the collection or at the drop boxes,” the priest said.

“Why were we asked? What about others? Our sincerity was questioned. This shows that the government does not trust us,” Father Sequeira added.

Church leaders said that they have not heard about Hindu and Muslim shrines coming under such scrutiny.

Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said that “targeting a particular group is unacceptable because the rule should be applicable to all.”

Church in India has been the first “to speak against black money,” he said, adding that their accounts are transparent and they have no problem complying with the government’s requests.

“But why are only religious institutions targeted? What about political leaders and political parties?” he added.

Some Church officials said the investigations were an example of the harassment Christians have faced ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 with his Hindu nationalist party.

The notices are “nothing but moves to harass us and it shows the government’s mismanagement,” said Father Denzil Fernandes, executive director of the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi.

“Church institutions are always transparent and if the government has any doubts, it can easily go to the bank and check our accounts,” he said. --ucanews.com