The trial of Prophetic Healing and Deliverances (PHD) Ministries
led by Walter Magaya, which is accused of evading paying income tax for sales
valued at $28 706 040, kicked off yesterday with the church denying the
allegations.
PHD Ministries representative Nelson Marimo, who appeared
before Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya, pleaded not guilty to four counts of
violating the Income Tax Act, saying the church only received donations,
tithes, offerings and contributions from its members, which he said were not
taxable.
Marimo, who was represented by Admire Rubaya and instructed
by Oliver Marwa and Everson Chatambudza, said PHD Ministries, as a church, did
not carry any trade through any company or other statutory corporation. He
added that the church did not generate any taxable income through operating
guest houses or accruals from any investments.
“The accused denies generating taxable income through
selling church regalia, anointing oil, and holy water or from conducting any
trade in the manner alleged. All the monies received by the accused are
exempted from income tax considering that all these receipts and accruals are
donations, tithes, offerings and contributions from its members, nothing more
than that,” Rubaya submitted.
“The accused person disputes the alleged financial
statements allegedly from Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, purporting that there
were sales amounting to $28 706 040 in the manner alleged or at all. The
accused will challenge the extraction of any evidence from such disputed
documents.”
On the count where Magaya and wife Tendai allegedly
received $2,4 million and $$954 522 respectively, the defence said the amounts
in question were not covered by the definition of remuneration in terms of the
13th schedule of Income Tax.
The defence claimed the amounts were for loan repayments
and the couple’s bank accounts were used as conduits for easy accounting
purposes. Marimo said the allegations were simply to embarrass the accused
person and they were clearly designed to destroy the church.
The State represented by George Manokore led evidence from
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) chief investigation officer Tinashe
Madakadze, who told the court that PHD Ministries registered with the tax
agency on October 20, 2014 as a voluntary church organisation.
Madakadze told the court that he wrote two letters to PHD
Ministries asking for information, but the letters were not responded to,
leading to them raiding their computers in terms of sections of the Income Tax
Act.
The Zimra official told the court that he went on to ask
for further information from the banks which hold accounts for the church.
Allegations are that sometime in October 2018, Madakadze
conducted tax investigations on PHD Ministries and recovered financial
statements from the church computer covering the period 2013 to 2017.
The State alleges that the accused did not declare or
submit income tax returns for the said period to Zimra in violation of the
Income Tax Act. Newsday
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