The Principle of Compliance in the Bible

When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma {tax} came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma {tax}?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and poll-tax, from the sons or from stranger?" When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me" (Matthew 17:24-27, NASB).

The narrative found in the above passage is nowhere to be found in the other Gospels except in the Gospel of Matthew. I believe that Matthew, who was a former tax collector, understands the law of taxation imposed by the Roman government and the consequences of not complying with it.

Jesus Teaches Compliance
We can also in chapter 22 of the Gospel of Matthew that in order to trap Jesus, the Pharisees questioned Him about compliance with the law of taxation. Though they have different motive in questioning, Jesus replied using the principles of "separation of Church and State," that is, "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's" (cf. 22:21). Our LORD only implies that His followers - the "Church" - are not free from the obligation of complying with the civil laws; and also to give their hearts, lives, properties, and influence all to God for He is the rightful Owner of these.

Consequences for Non-Compliance
Proverbs 10:9 says, "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out" (ESV). In the past, there was a gangster named "Al Capone" who was involved in illegitimate occupation but was highly visible as public figure for he made donations to various endeavors using the money he made from his activities. Capone tried to walk in integrity though his ways of earning was crooked. History tells us the Capone was not imprisoned due to his illegal activities but because of tax evasion; proving that he tried to become a man of integrity, he didn't get the security he wanted from God.

Sometime in the years 2012 and 2013, we heard of two Filipino personalities namely, former Chief Justice Renato Corona and Janet Lim-Napoles. Both tried to walk in integrity: Corona was the Chief Justice of the land; while Napoles donated money to the church. They are now both facing tax evasion case filed by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

My point is that churches and believers must walk in integrity by complying with the civil laws, especially laws, rules and regulations on taxation, so that "so that we do not offend them (the BIR)," and face tax related problems in the future.

The Need for Church Accounting Training in the Philippines

A church is one of many organizations that make up the nonstock nonprofit sector. The National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) under Chapter IV Section 30(E) states that religious organizations, among others, are exempt from paying income tax, except those whose income was earned from activities conducted for profit.

The tax exemption granted under the law is not automatic since they are required to secure confirmatory rulings or certificates of tax exemption from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The tax exemption privileges are not absolute since it does not cover all types of income and activities.

Because of these these laws, rules and regulations, churches organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines are required to file an annual return with the BIR and with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), attaching therein their financial reports that are prepared in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Church accounting can be daunting task and many small churches struggle with it. More often than not, a member of the church with little or no accounting knowledge is drafted into the church treasurer or church financial secretary position. They may have some business accounting experience, but may not have any specific training in church accounting. The membership expects them to "handle" or "take care" of the church finances appropriately even though they have made very little provision for educating or training on the issues specific to church accounting.

May I remind you of what the LORD Jesus Christ said on Matthew 17:24-27 when the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came and asked Peter, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" And Jesus said to Peter, "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."

Almost all churches that I visited are focused in providing training in the aspect of spirituality to their members but had not provided training about the issue of accounting, compliance, and taxation to the church leaders. So that we may not cause offense to the government agencies, I suggest that church leaders in the Philippines must take this issue into their considerations.