CHARITY status has been stripped from Adelaide’s oldest mosque and main halal certifier for failing to 
reveal financial dealings.
South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi — who started a controversial inquiry into what happens to funds from halal certification — says the industry is rife with corruption and no religious tax breaks should be given to anything that looks like a business.
The Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission revoked the Adelaide Mosque Islamic Society of South Australia’s status when it “double defaulted” on providing financial statements last year.
The mosque then provided statements at the end of last year in an apparent attempt to regain the charity status that allows exemptions from income tax among other benefits.
Those statements show that almost all the mosque’s money comes from certifying halal meat for export. In short, they make money from guaranteeing that Australian red meat is fit for Muslim consumption.
The accounts show that almost two thirds of the mosque’s income is from the certification — $193,340 out of $300,130.
