Church tax

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The church tax is a tax levied by the state on behalf of certain religious communities from their members to finance religiously motivated tasks (e.g. building and maintaining churches , paying clergy , day care centers , senior citizens' homes ). It currently exists in this form in December 2019, especially in Germany and Switzerland . In Austria, by law, the financial contributions are to be paid as church contributions directly to the member churches. Even if it is formally not a tax, the term church tax is still used synonymously in Austria.

The state-ordered church financing by the members has its origin in the desire to create a balance for the religious communities affected by it after secularization . So this applies above all to the Evangelical , Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Churches . Other religious communities such as Judaism , other Orthodox churches , but also Islam , Buddhism , Mormons , natural religions etc. do not benefit, but are dependent on direct donations from their members. Worldwide, 50 to 75 percent of the income of the churches comes from donations. In Germany, Judaism is familiar with the cultural tax . Outside the German-speaking area there is only a church tax in a few countries.

The levy is associated with the medieval tithe , but it was not created by government agencies until the 19th century, after the churches were deprived of their material basis in the course of secularization .

Germany

In Germany , the church taxes of the Protestant regional churches , the Roman Catholic Church and some other religious communities are collected by the tax offices of the respective countries, which retain an expense allowance. In Bavaria, the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have their own church tax offices. Most religious communities do not levy church taxes.

Austria

In Austria, members of the Catholic , Protestant and Old Catholic Churches pay a church fee, which is to be paid directly to them. The church contribution, although it is mandatory to be paid by all church members and directly executable, is not a tax under tax law.

Switzerland

The Swiss cantons regulate the administration of church tax. The state takes over the collection for these churches.

Belgium

In Belgium , pastors and bishops, like civil servants, are paid by the state. The municipalities are legally obliged to maintain the buildings.

Brazil

In Brazil , where the largest Catholic community in the world exists, Catholics do not pay church taxes. Nevertheless, it is precisely this religious community that is the quickest to lose members to Evangélicos , Maranatas and other communities, which voluntarily transfer around ten percent of their income to the respective religious administration.

Denmark

The Evangelical Lutheran Danish People's Church is supported by state funds. The church tax is set by the local parish and must be approved by the political community and the church ministry. It differs locally, can be up to 7 percent and is collected with wage and income tax. About three fifths of the church budgets are financed directly from state funds.

Finland

There is also a church tax in Finland . The amount of the fee is determined by the parish to which you belong. The church tax is 1 to 2 percent of the taxable income, whereby companies are also liable to church tax.

France

In the course of the French Revolution , the church tithe was abolished in France. The churches are essentially dependent on donations. According to the law separating church and state , churches in France have to finance themselves to a large extent. Church tax is only levied in Alsace and the Moselle department, i.e. the three departments that belonged to the German Empire as the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine until 1918. Pastors receive roughly the salary of a teacher, as determined by the Napoleonic Code .

Greece

In Greece , pastors and bishops, like civil servants, are paid by the state. The municipalities are legally obliged to maintain the buildings.

Great Britain

In Great Britain the churches have never been expropriated - as especially in France and Germany  - so they use their own property to cover the expenses that are not covered by donations.

Iceland

In Iceland , people over the age of 16 have to pay a so-called sóknargjald (for example: “community fee”, plural sóknargjöld ), which is deducted from income tax . The sóknargjald goes to the state-recognized religious community or secular-humanistic group of which the person is registered. Until 2009 the sóknargjald went to the University of Iceland by people who do not belong to any religious community or secular group ; Due to a change in the law, the money in these cases has since gone into the general state budget. In 2016 the Sóknargjald was 898 Icelandic kronor per month.

Italy

In Italy , an obligatory church and culture tax ( otto per mille , i.e. 8 ‰, based on gross income tax) is levied. The taxpayer can state on the tax return which religious community should benefit from the tax or whether it should go to social causes or the state.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands there is no church tax and no state funding for religious communities. These are financed exclusively regionally from donations.

Norway

The Norwegian Church has not been financed as a state church by the state treasury since 2012. The financing is covered by membership / church fees.

Poland

There is no church tax in Poland, the church is financed by donations and contributions.

There is a church fund of around 21.5 million euros (as of 2012) in the state budget, which is financed from tax revenues. This fund results from the expropriation of the Polish Church by the communist government. The fund was introduced after the fall of the Wall in 1990 and is intended to compensate the church for land, buildings and facilities that are no longer transferable. In addition, priests and members of monasteries and ecclesiastical congregations in communist Poland (People's Republic of Poland) were not covered by social insurance, so they had no medical care or pension.

Sweden

There is also a church tax in Sweden . After the separation of state and church, this is called “church tax” (kyrkoavgift) and is collected by the state tax authorities. The amount of the fee is determined by the parish to which you belong. The average amount of the tax in 2015 was 1.00% of taxable income.

Spain

In Spain , the taxpayer can state on the tax return which religious community should benefit from the tax or whether it should go to social causes or the state. The amount of tax that goes to the Catholic Church or other social and cultural purposes is 0.7%. If the taxpayer does not make a decision, the money is automatically sent to “other purposes”.

United States

In the course of the American Revolution , the church tithe was abolished in the USA . The churches are essentially dependent on donations.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See e.g. B .:
  2. ↑ A Brief History of Church Taxes. Archdiocese of Cologne, archived from the original on September 14, 2005 ; accessed on November 10, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Jakob Frey : Church tax. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . August 13, 2007 .
  4. ↑ Jens Petersen: Church tax compact: structured presentation with calculation examples . 3. Edition. Springer Galber, 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-10631-7 , pp. 246 f . ( Limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 18, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Jens Petersen: Church tax compact: structured presentation with calculation examples . 3. Edition. Springer Galber, 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-10631-7 , pp. 248 f . ( Limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 18, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Jens Petersen: The church tax - a brief information. (PDF; 66 kB) Evangelical Church in Germany, p. 2 , archived from the original on October 19, 2013 ; accessed on November 10, 2017 .
  7. ↑ a b Kirkjumál and skráð trúfélög and lífsskoðunarfélög. Icelandic Ministry of the Interior (Innanríkisráðuneytið), archived from the original on 23 March 2016 ; Retrieved October 5, 2018 (Icelandic).
  8. ^ A b Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor: International Religious Freedom Report for 2014: Iceland. US Department of State , 2014, accessed December 7, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Frumvarp til laga um ráðstafanir í ríkisfjármálum. Alþingi , 2009, accessed December 7, 2015 (Icelandic).
  10. ↑ Jens Petersen: Church tax compact: structured presentation with calculation examples . 3. Edition. Springer Galber, 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-10631-7 , pp. 247 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  11. ↑ Jens Petersen: Church tax compact: structured presentation with calculation examples . 3. Edition. Springer Galber, 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-10631-7 , pp. 249 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 18, 2018]).
  12. ↑ Church in Sweden website on church tax (Swedish)
  13. ↑ Jens Petersen: Church tax compact: structured presentation with calculation examples . 3. Edition. Springer Galber, 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-10631-7 , pp. 247 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  14. ↑ El nuevo sistema de asignación tributaria en favor de la iglesia católica. (PDF, 103 kB) Spanish Bishops' Conference , September 29, 2006, archived from the original on March 31, 2010 ; Retrieved November 10, 2017 (Spanish).