People of Pakistan are being strangled with oppressive taxes such as GST, income tax, withholding tax, toll tax etc. Islam considers all these taxes Haram. Only the Khilafah can liberate people from the current exploitative tax system by implementing the Islamic economic system. There is no hope of any relief for a common man by merely changing governments and faces as these oppressive taxes are part and parcel of the Capitalist economic system and every ruler, elected or despot, implements the same capitalist system. Hence it doesn’t come as a surprise that for the last fifty-five years democratic and dictatorial regimes alike have been sucking the blood of the Pakistani people. In the Islamic economic system there are specified heads of revenue. Imposition of direct or indirect taxes other than the taxes and heads of revenue ordained by Islam is Haram. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“The tax-collector will not enter Paradise.” (Abu Dawud, Ahmed)
Islam has its unique system of taxation and revenue. Islam imposes taxes such as Khiraj and ‘Ushr on the one who owns cultivable land. Similarly, 2.5% of Zakah is taken from the one whose wealth reaches the nisab and he posses it for a year. Furthermore, other sources of revenue include Rikaz, spoils of war, Al-Fai, Al-Jizya, import and export duties, property that has no inheritors, property of the apostate, revenues from state property, land, buildings and utilities; Illicit money from the rulers or civil servants money acquired illegitimately and fines etc. Moreover, there are no taxes whatsoever on the industry; although the industrialist does have to pay 2.5% of Zakah once every year on the money and the stock of merchandise he owns. Hence the common characteristic of all these Islamic revenues is that the poor and the needy are not taxed at all, whether directly or indirectly. Furthermore, the rich are also taxed in a just manner, keeping in view their economic and monitory situation.
The Islamic economic system cannot be implemented through democracy since in the democratic form of ruling the power to legislate belongs to a few individuals who prefer to increase their salaries multiple times in a single year whilst at the same time, the majority in the legislative assembly, imposes strangling taxes on the people just to keep the IMF and the World Bank happy. In the Khilafah, the Khaleefah as well as the Majlis-e-Ummah has no right and jurisdiction to change the above mentioned Ahkam of the Islamic economic system. This is how Allah (swt) protects the rights of his creation by keeping the right of legislation only to Himself.