Priests, nuns in aided schools must pay income tax on salaries: Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld a Madras High Court decision, ruling that salaries of priests and nuns working as teachers in government-aided schools are subject to income tax. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed an appeal challenging the taxation, stating that salary grants provided to schools cannot be exempt from Tax Deducted at Source (TDS).
The case initially saw a single judge in the Madras High Court rule that priests and nuns should be exempt from income tax, as per canon law, with the income directed to their diocese rather than personally retained. However, a division bench reversed this in 2019, leading to the current appeal in the Supreme Court.
During proceedings, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar argued that the funds bypassed the schools and went directly to dioceses, registered as charitable trusts under the Income Tax Act. However, the bench maintained that the government disburses funds to schools as salaries, making TDS mandatory.
Responding to arguments on the vows of poverty taken by priests and nuns, CJI Chandrachud stated that religious vows do not alter employment tax obligations, stressing that tax law applies uniformly. Despite references to past practices exempting priests from tax, the Supreme Court ruled that TDS deductions would apply, permitting priests and nuns to file for refunds if eligible.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
