How Khums and Zakat Differ from Taxes
How exactly Khums and Zakat differ from taxes? Here are some of the differences:
Taxes are the money you pay so that the government can provide you with services outside your home, such as building a park in your neighborhood, just as you build a small garden at home.
One who covers his yard with mosaic also pays taxes, so that the governed may cover the roads with asphalt. In addition to locking the door, he gives taxes so the government can hire police to provide security.
He light lamps at home and gives taxes so that the government can light up the streets.
So taxes are spent for you outside of home like the money you spend for your personal life. The difference is that you spend directly for your personal life while what is spent outside home is through the taxes you pay.
The second difference is that paying Khums and Zakat is an act of worship which needs Ghasd of Qurba (intention of getting closer to God) but there is no such thing in paying taxes, which is usually done unwillingly.
The third difference is that Khums is spent under the supervision of the most learned, pious, and popular scholar, whereas taxes may not be spent in a just and fair manner.
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The fourth difference is that Khums and Zakat are paid based on trust. First the person himself, not a government employee, calculates his income and expenses for determining how much he should pay as Khums and Zakat. Second, he can choose the source of emulation to whom he wants to give his Khums or Zakat. Third, he knows how it is spent under the supervision of a learned and just scholar.
The fifth difference is that the recipient of Khums and Zakat receives it with the aim of helping people grow and purify their wealth and the one who pays Khums and Zakat does it with the aim of getting closer to God.
Also, Khums is calculated based on what remains from one’s expenses in a year while taxes are calculated based on one’s income.
