The founder and leader of the Glorious Wave Church International, Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi has launched a scathing attack on President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government over plans to tax churches.
According to Badu Kobi, it was nonsensical for the Akufo-Addo government to even think of taxing churches.
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the Commissioner-General of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Emmanuel Kofi Nti had indicated that his outfit is looking to tax church-ran businesses will be taxed.
This according to the GRA boss, was because many church leaders or ‘owners’ leverage their churches to establish other businesses which generate enough money for them which must be taxed.
But in an audio recording YEN.com.gh has come across, Badu Kobi expressed his displeasure at the move saying it goes contrary to the promises Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) made about taxes while they were campaigning for power in 2016. “Sunday, I ‘m coming with NPP manifesto and I will show you the page which they said taxes must not be part of governance and taxes is a lazy man’s approach.
“The things I will prove to them and eventually will speak throughout the whole of Ghana. They should come and tell us where this nonsense entered their head,” he was heard saying in the video.
In what sounds like an angry sermon, Badu Kobi challenged Akufo-Addo to declare the source of his campaign funds and also pay tax on it as well.
“If they want to tax the church, we must tax their campaign money and if they don’t want pastors to drive the best, they should go to campaign on trucks. Nonsense.
“When they were doing their campaign, under’s Ghana law, you don’t take money from anywhere. Nana Akufo-Addo should come and tell me if they took money from somewhere or not because I know where they took their money from. “I know how the campaign money came to Ghana. I’m going to expose them,” he said.
Wondering why a party which came to power with the slogan ‘The battle is the Lord’s’ was not battling the church, he reiterated that he will expose the nonsense of our leaders on Sunday.
“Coming Sunday, Nana Akufo-Addo should listen to me. We are not afraid of them.”
Badu Kobi further charged at the government retorting “how can you be happy and say you want to tax the church, are you a fool?”
Prophet Badu Kobi is one of the most popular pastors in Ghana. Apart from his many prophecies, he is known to have given out over 200 cars as gifts over the years.
He is seen in some quarters as being sympathetic to former President John Mahama and the opposition NDC.
Badu Kobi’s position is in sharp contrast with the opinion of another popular prophet, Isaac Owusu Bempah who has given a thumbs up to government over the proposed tax.
According to Owusu Bempah who was once the spiritual father of Badu Kobi, many of his colleague pastors do sell items in church which must be taxed.
Moreover, Owusu Bempah said on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana, they go about flaunting their riches and must therefore not be crying if they are going to be taxed.