I believe this story is bogus. There is no Catholic teaching that would allow this and deny Communion or confession for this sort of thing..
If a Bishop is endorsing such a thing He will be excommunicated
If the German government is calling for this then every Catholic Church in Germany is bound to ignore this.
Don’t be so sure: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-germany-catholic-churchtax-idUSBRE88K0LX20120921
I believe this story is bogus. There is no Catholic teaching that would allow this and deny Communion or confession for this sort of thing..It appears that those who "opt out" are formal apostates, they have declared themselves outside of the Church to avoid the tax.
Thanks. I think you have a good point. Carefully re-reading the article with it in mind is an interesting exercise.