Different religions we unite:Tax or not to tax?

[JIMMY12345]

I recently attended a wedding.One guest was a graduate of an excellent Indian University.In a year he taught himself German.Then obtained a Masters engineering degree and an excellent job in the aerospace sector in Germany.
Now this is where is might get interesting.In Germany there is a compulsory church tax for members which the state collects.Tax saving Accountants note.There is the option is to be atheist.
We discussed this as Catholic Hindu Jewish Muslim Protestant guests drifted up to listen
*************************************************************************************
For the different religious groups above and others.Would you support a religious tax in your hometown?

 

[Heyo]

I recently attended a wedding.One guest was a graduate of an excellent Indian University.In a year he taught himself German.Then obtained a Masters engineering degree and an excellent job in the aerospace sector in Germany.
Now this is where is might get interesting.In Germany there is a compulsory church tax for members which the state collects.Tax saving Accountants note.There is the option is to be atheist.
We discussed this as Catholic Hindu Jewish Muslim Protestant guests drifted up to listen
*************************************************************************************
For the different religious groups above and others.Would you support a religious tax in your hometown?

To explain the "tax" in more detail:
The German Catholic and Lutheran churches have a contract with the state which collects the tax (1% of taxable income) for them together with the income tax. You make your cross in the box according to your religion and that's it.
Every now and then there are voices who want to ban the praxis but it is no big deal for most.

Edit: 1% is wrong. Thanks to @Sirona for correcting me. See post #4.

 

[Sirona]

Don't know whether I understand you correctly but you possibly believe that taxpayers in general are obliged to pay taxes to religions regardless of whether they are members of said religion or not. You have to pay church tax if you are a member of a religion which is organized as a body of public law. Up to 2005 this was the case almost exclusively for the Catholic Church and the Evangelische Church in Germany for historical reasons. In 2005 the highest court for administrative law in Berlin held that the same status must be granted to the JW as well. Critics say that with this decision the JW had aimed for getting the same status of respectability traditionally given to the Catholics and the Evangelische Church (and that they failed to achieve that goal). Anyway this opened the floodgate for every garden variety of religion to be registered as a body of public law. With such a status, the state may collect church tax from you and give it to your religion. The religious group in question may also theoretically have the right to teach their religion at public school and to be represented in media gremiums such as for public TV. Practically, this is only done if your religion is of considerable size, so this right is given mostly to the Catholic Church and the Evangelische Church as well.

If you're a member of a religion which isn't constituted as a body of public law, the state is not responsible for collecting your financial contributions to that religion.

 

[Sirona]

To explain the "tax" in more detail:
The German Catholic and Lutheran churches have a contract with the state which collects the tax (1% of taxable income) for them together with the income tax. You make your cross in the box according to your religion and that's it.
Every now and then there are voices who want to ban the praxis but it is no big deal for most.

In 2019, the church tax rate was 8% of income tax in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and 9% in the other federal states. The assessment basis for the church tax is the income tax.

 

[Heyo]

In 2019, the church tax rate was 8% of income tax in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and 9% in the other federal states. The assessment basis for the church tax is the income tax.

You are right, I was wrong. (I never paid church tax, I left before that could apply.)

 

[PureX]

That sounds pretty weird, to me. I would consider something more matter-of-fact. Like taxing buildings and other physical assets used by religious organizations an "infrastructure fee". Because they do require access to public infrastructure. How the congregation raises that money is up to them. Same goes for individual incomes, regardless of religion or the lack thereof. If a priest gets paid a salary, he pays income tax. In other words, we don't tax their religiosity, we tax the mechanics of it the same way we tax the mechanics of anything else that involves organization and requires public money to maintain.

 

[Truth in love]

I recently attended a wedding.One guest was a graduate of an excellent Indian University.In a year he taught himself German.Then obtained a Masters engineering degree and an excellent job in the aerospace sector in Germany.
Now this is where is might get interesting.In Germany there is a compulsory church tax for members which the state collects.Tax saving Accountants note.There is the option is to be atheist.
We discussed this as Catholic Hindu Jewish Muslim Protestant guests drifted up to listen
*************************************************************************************
For the different religious groups above and others.Would you support a religious tax in your hometown?

Several countries collect funds for the church the person says they attend. I really dislike that practice.

People should give willingly as they decide or maybe as the church asks, but not via the hand of government.

 

[Exaltist Ethan]

Here in the United States there is tax-deductible ways you can give you charity. Religion is pretty much a charity with some sort of cause, right? So why do we need to tax religion and its contribution to society? America was founded on the idea of the separation of church and state, and if we start taxing the church then they'll start telling people how and who to vote for. I don't like the idea of either to be honest. It's bad enough as it is.

 

[Heyo]

That sounds pretty weird, to me. I would consider something more matter-of-fact. Like taxing buildings and other physical assets used by religious organizations an "infrastructure fee". Because they do require access to public infrastructure. How the congregation raises that money is up to them. Same goes for individual incomes, regardless of religion or the lack thereof. If a priest gets paid a salary, he pays income tax. In other words, we don't tax their religiosity, we tax the mechanics of it the same way we tax the mechanics of anything else that involves organization and requires public money to maintain.

It isn't really a tax. See it as a member fee and the club church made a deal with the government that they collect the fee.

 

[Heyo]

Here in the United States there is tax-deductible ways you can give you charity. Religion is pretty much a charity with some sort of cause, right? So why do we need to tax religion and its contribution to society? America was founded on the idea of the separation of church and state, and if we start taxing the church then they'll start telling people how and who to vote for. I don't like the idea of either to be honest. It's bad enough as it is.

It's not "taxing the church". It's "taxing" church members but the big churches got the government to do it.

 

[QuestioningMind]

Here in the United States there is tax-deductible ways you can give you charity. Religion is pretty much a charity with some sort of cause, right? So why do we need to tax religion and its contribution to society? America was founded on the idea of the separation of church and state, and if we start taxing the church then they'll start telling people how and who to vote for. I don't like the idea of either to be honest. It's bad enough as it is.

Why can't churches deal with charitable contributions the same way any other charitable organization does? They should receive tax credits for any contributions they can show went to charity. Unfortunately as it currently stands churches don't have to open their books to show where they spend the money. They pay no taxes on any of their money, even if they don't spend any of it on charitable causes.

 

[QuestioningMind]

I recently attended a wedding.One guest was a graduate of an excellent Indian University.In a year he taught himself German.Then obtained a Masters engineering degree and an excellent job in the aerospace sector in Germany.
Now this is where is might get interesting.In Germany there is a compulsory church tax for members which the state collects.Tax saving Accountants note.There is the option is to be atheist.
We discussed this as Catholic Hindu Jewish Muslim Protestant guests drifted up to listen
*************************************************************************************
For the different religious groups above and others.Would you support a religious tax in your hometown?

I don't know how they deal with this is Europe. All I know is that churches should be taxed here in the United States. It's absolutely ridiculous that they get a free pass.

 

[Heyo]

I don't know how they deal with this is Europe. All I know is that churches should be taxed here in the United States. It's absolutely ridiculous that they get a free pass.

They don't. They get a free pass on accountability. They have the same tax exempt status any charity has just not the same duties any other charity has.

 

[Sirona]

America was founded on the idea of the separation of church and state, and if we start taxing the church then they'll start telling people how and who to vote for.

I think that's the idea behind a church tax. Church-loving Germans often vote for the "Christian Democatic Union", the party CDU. However, church membership is dwindling. About 50% of the German population are currently members of the Catholic or Lutheran Church.