The Ministry of Finance says that it’s working on a plan to collect tithes and zakat from the eligible residents of the country.

Ahmad Wali Haqmal, spokesman of the Ministry of Finance, said that a joint committee has been set up to carry on this work which includes the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

Haqmal added that in Islam, the important source of income and economy is tithes and zakat, saying that the details have not yet been clarified on how to collect them, and how to determine which individuals must qualify to pay.

“The joint committee was created by the Ministry of Finance, which includes the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture. Work has been started on its function and it has not been finalized yet,” said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance.

According to the plan of the Ministry of Finance, tithes will be taken from the landowners who have fertile lands and zakat will be collected from every Muslim who has the minimum amount and is obligated to give.

“If Zakat and tithes are collected in a modern and fundamental way, the government will be able to meet its normal budget without relying on global aid,” said Abdul Nasir Reshtia, an economist.

Meanwhile, a number of businessmen in the country say that if the Islamic Emirate distributes zakat money to destitute and deserving people, they will cooperate with them.

Yar Mohammad, a businessman, says that every year out of 100,000 Afghanis, he pays 2,500 of it to the poor and destitute people.
 

“We give our zakat to whoever comes, but one problem is that we ourselves have destitute people. We have problems, we have relatives, and zakat starts with relatives first,” he said.

This comes as all the country’s revenues are obtained through the customs and large, medium and small taxpayers, and the decline in trade and commerce has had a negative impact on the country’s revenue.