CAN ZAKAT REPLACE TAXES? : TOWARD A JUST ISLAMIC FISCAL POLICY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62567/micjo.v3i3.3001Keywords:
Zakat, Taxes, Macroeconomics, Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Islamic Economics, Islamic LawAbstract
The discussion about the need for Muslim communities in Muslim countries or those with Muslim majority populations to have an integrated instrument in the fiscal policy has recently been increasingly prominent. At least driven by two factors, internal and external. The internal factor is the fiscal policy in the form of taxes that have been implemented by the state by adopting a conventional economic system that has not created what is called social welfare in many Muslim countries. Second, along with de-globalization that has hit the world recently, especially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has reduced dependence between countries, countries have to rethink to get away from dependence on the global economic system, including how to think about policies. fiscal and monetary in accordance with each country and can survive and be useful for dealing with a similar pandemic. One of the Islamic economic instruments that has surfaced in the discussion of the fiscal system is Zakat. Zakat in many studies indicates that it can be an alternative substitute for the tax position in the state fiscal system. The purpose of this paper is to find answers to whether Zakat is able to replace the tax position in the state fiscal policy system. What is its position in economic theory and Islamic law, and how to formulate zakat as a fiscal policy instrument? This paper also includes a discussion of potential conflicts that arise when zakat is applied to replace taxes.
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