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Let us be blunt about this. Church leaders hold some of the most primitive attitudes in the world about paying taxes.

One cleric illustrated this recently when he rejected tax clauses in a proposed law.

One provision in the 2024 Religious Organisations Bill that religious groups find unpalatable states that “offerings, tithes, donations, bequests, gifts granted to religious groups and their umbrella organisations “shall only be exempt from taxation where [the group] demonstrates that such income is for purposes beneficial to the society”.

Another proposes that “income, gains or profits generated from lawful economic activities undertaken by the [groups] shall not be exempt from taxation unless the entirety of those proceeds are applied towards charitable causes”.

It’s clear that some church leaders want to shack the responsibilities that come with citizenship. But they are not the only ones. Informal traders, owners of small businesses and even entrepreneurs with millions in annual income seem to think paying taxes is someone else’s responsibility.

These groups have clever ways of hiding their true income from the taxing authorities, leaving the burden inordinately on the shoulders of formal workers and entities that choose to obey the law.

In the 2023-24 fiscal year, Kenya collected a total of just over one trillion shillings from import and excise duty, income tax (including PAYE), and value-added tax. The KRA could collect a lot more if every citizen and entity that earned an income paid their fair share.

Citizens should appreciate that taxes fund essential public services – education, healthcare, infrastructure, national defence, etc. – from which we all benefit. Besides, part of being a responsible citizen is taking pride in contributing to the collective good. Paying taxes is also a legal obligation.

Religious groups need to understand that they are part of this experiment in democracy called Kenya and they need to play their part to make it work.

The most odious implication of the arguments that some clerics have made against paying taxes is that they want special treatment. That’s not fair.

Yes, many religious groups operate on shoestring budgets, depending entirely on contributions from congregants. But others hold wealth in cash and property in magnitudes that are unimaginable to ordinary tax-paying Kenyans.

It’s hard to pin down exactly the nature of the finances of any particular church group, but those that can afford it must give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.