Getting Ready! Soon Civil Servants Must Pay Zakat 2.5 Percent Cut Salaries

Civil servant illustration. (Photo: Era.id)

JAKARTA - The government plans to impose a zakat payment obligation of 2.5 percent to Civil Servants (PNS) of the income earned every month through the salary cut mechanism.

This was disclosed by the President Director of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk. (BSI) Hery Gunardi in a press release, Thursday, April 15.

"Currently Baznas (National Zakat Agency) is submitting a Presidential Decree (Presidential Decree)," he said after signing a work agreement with Baznas.

The role of BSI in this case is as a state-owned financial institution that manages the zakat fund.

"We are ready to support the management of zakat," he said.

In addition to collecting zakat from civil servants, Hery sees that the potential for Islamic finance which is carried out collectively is estimated at Rp. 300 trillion. This figure is supported by zakat, donations and alms.

However, Hery cannot confirm when the Presidential Decree will be signed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). However, he guarantees that the company will provide easy access for the public through digital features to pay zakat so as to support national economic development.

"If the benefits are widely accepted by the community, we can provide more transparent information, and the community will be more diligent in giving zakat. Hopefully all of our good intentions will receive blessings from Allah SWT, "he added.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Baznas KH. Noor Achmad welcomed the active role of government-owned banking institutions to participate in managing community funds.

"We would like to thank Bank Syariah Indonesia for being willing to cooperate with Baznas. This is in order to increase the potential for zakat in Indonesia, which is currently not maximized, ”he said.

Based on data reported by the State Civil Service Agency (BKN), the number of active civil servants as of June 2020 was recorded at 4.1 million people.

In general, the salary for the lowest class of civil servants is known to be IDR 1.5 million. Meanwhile, for the highest group, it was IDR 5.9 million per month. The amount of the salary is the basic salary, not including various other benefits.