Fatwa #4310013 December 2019India
Can one lie to evade Tax?
Question
Asalamu Alaikum
Sub : Practicing as Professional Accountant and prepare false statements and false accounts for the client to save their tax liability in an non islamic country is allowed as per Sharia.
Respected Mufi Sahib,
I am a practising Accountant from an non islamic country.our country is having human made laws , sometimes the people must give 30 % of their income as tax to government.
As part of my profession , I have to guide my client to evade tax. i.e, i will be preparing false statement and false accounts for them to save the tax burden. For this I might have to appear for hearing before Government Officials and Support their false accounts.Also some client may use the documents forwarded by me to avail interest based loans from Banks .
I would like to know whether am allowed to do such works as per Sharia.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Your concern regarding the permissibility of your job is an expression of your Imaan and Allah consciousness. May Allah grant you halal and wholesome income. Ameen.
The concept of taxes itself is not prohibited in Shariah. However, excessive and exorbitant taxes are oppression. Therefore, one may use any legal strategies available to assist clients in decreasing their tax payments. However, in the process of doing this, one cannot lie and make false statements etc.
Truthfulness and honesty are from the basic fundamentals of Islam. Consider the following Hadith:
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَصْدُقُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الصِّدْقَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ صِدِّيقًا وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْكَذِبَ فَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَكْذِبُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الْكَذِبَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَذَّابًا "
Translation: Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam said: It is obligatory for you to tell the truth, for truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to Paradise, and a man continues to speak the truth and endeavors to tell the truth until he is recorded as truthful by Allah, and beware of telling of a lie, for telling of a lie leads to obscenity and obscenity leads to Hell-Fire, and a man continues to lie and endeavors to lie until he is recorded as a liar by Allah. (Sahih Muslim 6309)
A Muslim must always maintain his honour and dignity and avoid doing anything that may lead him to disgrace and humiliation. Tax evasion is illegal by law and it includes lying and providing false evidence, because of which a person could lose his job and even land in jail.
Hence, abstain completely from any form of lying and continuously make Tawba and Duaa to Allah Ta’ala to grant you pure and halal sustenance.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai