Is evading the payment of taxes forbidden?
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The questioner : A questioner asks, saying: Is evading the payment of taxes forbidden?
The Shaykh : Evading taxes is, without a doubt, not among the paths of the Shari'ah. On the other hand, if we see—as we mentioned in a previous session—that the original ruling in Islam is that taxes are not prescribed, it is nonetheless not permissible for a Muslim to take paths that contradict the established system if his doing so would be a stain on the religiously committed. This stain consequently transfers to the religion itself. Therefore, we do not see this method of escaping taxes as acceptable. As for the taxes themselves, they are originally an injustice, and imposing something that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has not prescribed. If a Muslim can escape them in a way that does not bring a stain upon the religion—or at least upon the people of the religion—then it is permissible; otherwise, it is not.
The Shaykh : Evading taxes is, without a doubt, not among the paths of the Shari'ah. On the other hand, if we see—as we mentioned in a previous session—that the original ruling in Islam is that taxes are not prescribed, it is nonetheless not permissible for a Muslim to take paths that contradict the established system if his doing so would be a stain on the religiously committed. This stain consequently transfers to the religion itself. Therefore, we do not see this method of escaping taxes as acceptable. As for the taxes themselves, they are originally an injustice, and imposing something that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has not prescribed. If a Muslim can escape them in a way that does not bring a stain upon the religion—or at least upon the people of the religion—then it is permissible; otherwise, it is not.
Source
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