The difference between zakaah and taxes, and the conditions of imposing taxes

Zakaah is one of the pillars of Islam which Allah, may He be
exalted, has enjoined upon the rich Muslims so as to achieve a kind of
social security, solidarity and financing some common interests, such as
jihad for the sake of Allah. 

Allah, may He be exalted, has mentioned it alongside prayer
in more than one verse of the Qur’an, which confirms its importance. The
fact that it is obligatory is proven according to the Qur’an, Sunnah and
scholarly consensus. 

With regard to the taxes that are decreed by the state and
imposed on the people, they have nothing to do with what Allah has enjoined
upon them of giving the zakaah of their wealth. 

Taxes in general terms are a financial obligation imposed by
the state on people, from which the state spends on the public interest,
such as transportation, health, education and so on. 

Taxes come under the heading of man-made systems, and are not
prescribed by Allah, may He be exalted. As for zakaah, it is divinely
ordained and it is one of the greatest acts of worship in Islam. 

Some people do not pay zakaah on their wealth, because they
think that the taxes they pay to the state are sufficient, but this is not
permissible, because taxes are one thing and zakaah is something else
altogether. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
said: 

It is not permissible to regard the taxes that the owners of
wealth pay on their wealth as coming under the heading of the zakaah on that
on which it is obligatory to give zakaah. Rather it is obligatory to give
the zakaah ordained by Allah to those who are entitled to it according to
sharee‘ah, as Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning): “As-Sadaqat (here it means Zakat) are only for the
Fuqara’ (poor), and Al-Masakin (the poor)…” [at-Tawbah 9:60].

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 9/285. 

The basic principle with regard to the imposition of taxes on
people is that it is haraam, and in fact is a major sin, for which the one
who does it is subject to the warning that he will never enter Paradise. In
the Prophet’s Sunnah there is an indication that imposing taxes is a greater
sin than zina. This has been discussed previously in the answer to question
no. 39461. 

It may be permissible in exceptional circumstances for the
state to impose taxes on the people, according to specific conditions, which
include the following: 

1.    
That it should be imposed
fairly, in the sense that the obligation is fairly distributed among the
people. So no group or class should be burdened with it to the exclusion of
another; rather it should be imposed on the wealthy, each according to his
wealth. It is not permissible to impose it on the poor or to treat the poor
and the rich equally in this regard.

2.    
The bayt al-maal (which
nowadays is known as the state treasury) should be empty. But if the state
is rich in resources, it is not permissible to impose taxes on the people;
in that case taxes would come under the heading of mukoos (levies)
which are haraam and are regarded as major sins.

3.    
That should be in exceptional
cases where it is required to ward off some harm. It is not permissible to
make this an ongoing system at all times. 

In al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (8/247) it says that the
resources of the bayt al-maal include the following: 

Taxes imposed on the people for their own interests, whether
that is for jihad or otherwise. They should not be imposed on them unless
what is in the bayt al-maal is not sufficient and it is a case of necessity.
Otherwise it is an illegitimate source of revenue. End quote. 

There are many permissible and legitimate sources of revenue
for the bayt al-maal of the Muslims. They have been discussed previously in
the answer to question no. 138115. 

If the Muslims follow these guidelines, Allah, may He be
exalted, will make them independent of means and they will have no need to
impose taxes except in very rare circumstances. 

4.    
(The revenue) should be spent
in the real interests of the ummah; nothing of it should be spent in acts of
disobedience towards Allah or anything that is not in their interests, such
as money that is spent on actors, artists and sports players. 

Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

With regard to paying the taxes imposed by governments, such
as sales tax, income tax, taxes on industry and on workers, and so on, this
is a matter that is subject to ijtihaad. If the state collects taxes instead
of the obligatory zakaah that merchants and the like should pay, then it
must be paid. If it collects taxes in addition to zakaah, but the bayt
al-maal needs to finance essential interests such as schools, bridges and
mosques, and to pay civil servants, it is permissible to pay it and it is
not permissible to withhold it. 

But if the state takes taxes from its citizens other than
zakaah, and wastes it on extravagance, corruption, idle leisure and other
haraam things, and it does not spend it on legitimate interests, such as
those who are entitled to zakaah, then it is permissible to conceal wealth
and profits so as not to give them haraam wealth and help them in doing
haraam things. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning): “but do not help one another in sin and transgression”
[al-Maa’idah 5:3]. End quote.

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
discussing the difference between the public interest and innovated
interests: 

The public interest (al-maslahah al-mursalah) is
completely different from so-called “good innovation” (bid‘ah hasanah).
The public interest is for the purpose of achieving some interest dictated
by place and time, that is approved of by Islam. In this regard, Imam
ash-Shaatibi confirmed that it is Islamically permissible to impose taxes
that are different from the taxes that are imposed nowadays in many, if not
all, Muslim countries on the basis of unclear, ambiguous laws, in imitation
of the kuffaar who were deprived of the blessing of following the path of
Allah that is based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). For those who were deprived of
the guidance of the Qur’an and Sunnah, it became a necessity to draw up for
themselves a specific system and to promulgate laws to deal with their
problems. But for the Muslims, Allah caused them to have no need of such
things, by virtue of the Book which He sent down to them and by virtue of
what the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
explained to them. Hence it is not permissible for the Muslims to replace
sharee‘ah with man-made laws, lest the words of Allah, “Would you
exchange that which is better for that which is lower?” [al-Baqarah 2:61]
become applicable to them. So it is not permissible under any circumstances
to impose taxes as a fixed, immutable law, as if it is a law divinely
revealed from heaven for all time. Rather the kind of taxes that it is
permissible for the Muslim state to impose is in specific circumstances that
the state is going through. I think that this example is the one that was
given by Imam ash-Shaatibi: If a Muslim country is attacked, and there are
no funds in the state treasury to prepare and equip armies to ward off that
attack by the enemies of Islam, then in such circumstances the state may
impose a specific tax on particular people who can afford to pay what is
imposed on them. But that should not become a binding tax and established
law — as we stated above. Once the passing reason, which is the kaafir
attack and the need to defend the Muslim land, is no longer applicable, then
the taxes are waived from the Muslims, because the reason for which the
taxes were imposed is no longer present. The ruling — as the fuqaha’ stated
— is connected to the reason for it: if the reason exists then the ruling
applies, but when it is no longer present, the ruling no longer applies. The
reason or cause that makes this obligatory duty essential is no longer
present, and when it has disappeared the taxes should also disappear. 

To sum up: there are no taxes that should become part of
Islamic law and regulations; rather the Muslim state may impose specific
taxes in specific circumstances, and when circumstances change, the taxes
should be abolished. End quote. 

http://audio.islamweb.net/audio/index.php?page=FullContent&audioid=109346-44k

 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Everything that is taken unlawfully is like a tax, and is
haraam. It is not permissible for anyone to take his brother’s wealth
unlawfully, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“If you sell fruit to your brother then the crop (on the tree) fails, it is
not permissible for you to take anything of it (his brother’s money). On
what basis would you consume your brother’s wealth unlawfully?” But the
Muslim is required to hear and obey; he should listen to those in authority
and obey those in authority. If they ask him for money for such matters, he
should give it to them. Then if he has a right to it, he will find it
restored (i.e., on the Day of Resurrection), and if it he does not have any
right to it, in that it was taken from him in a justifiable manner, then
there will be nothing to be settled. What matters is that what we are
obliged to do is to hear and obey with regard to those in authority. The
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Hear and obey,
even if your back is beaten and your wealth is taken.” It is not permissible
to take these matters as an excuse to criticize those in authority and to
slander them in gatherings and the like. We should be patient and whatever
we do not get in this world we will get in the Hereafter. End quote. 

Liqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh, 65/12.