Compulsory income tax on Christians drives Germans away from Protestant and Catholic churches

The Telegraph ^ | 02/02/2015 | By Justin Huggler

[SeekAndFind]

Hundreds of thousands of German Christians are formally renouncing their faith and leaving the church in order to escape a controversial change in the tax laws.

Up to 200,000 Germans are believed to have filed official declarations last year renouncing their membership of the Protestant church, the highest number in almost two decades. A similar number are thought to have left the Catholic Church.

Church members in Germany are required by law to pay tax to fund church activities, which is collected by the government.

Under German law, anyone who was baptised as a child is automatically a member of the church and obliged to pay the tax, charged as a percentage of their income, regardless of their beliefs or whether they attend church services.

Until recently, many Christians have been prepared to pay the extra tax for the benefits it brings them, including access to church schools and day care facilities that are funded by the state.

But the only way out of paying the tax is to make a formal declaration renouncing your membership of the church – and there is a government fee for this as well.

A decision to extend the 8 or 9 per cent charge to capital gains income, or the profit earned from selling an asset, appears to have sparked the sharp decline in church membership.

The new tax regulation was “just the straw that broke the camel’s back for people who were already thinking of leaving”, Ruth Levin, spokesman for the Protestant church in Disnlaken, told Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

[miserare]

I hope Obama doesn’t find out about this method of taxation.

He’ll use it to squeeze more blood out of middle income Christians.

[samtheman]

The Children of Mengele up to their old tricks.

[marron]

Abandoning the government church is not necessarily a bad thing.

What about non-official denominations?

[Lee N. Field]

I’m a big fan of the US-ian system. (No state church, no state support.)

[Fred Hayek]

Jizya that goes to either a mosque or to church of an apostate denomination (PCUSA ECUSA ELCA UCC etc)?

[Morgana]

Someone who was from Germany explained how that system works.

Okay your tax dollars do support a church BUT and here is the but, you may choose which church it goes to. Say if you are a Catholic or a Protestant, on your taxes you check the correct box and the money goes to that church. If you don’t want it going to a church, it may go to another non profit orginazation.

Churches in Germany, both Catholic and Protestant do not pass around a collection plate as we do in America.

[TexasGator]

“I hope Obama doesn’t find out about this”

” the benefits it brings them, including access to church schools and day care facilities that are funded by the state.”

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

miserare:" I hope Obama doesn’t find out about this method of taxation.
He’ll use it to squeeze more blood out of middle income Christians."

..and require Christians to wear a yellow cross on armbands for their outer garments .

[Antoninus II]

WTF kind of system is that??!!

[Reeses]

tax to fund church activities, which is collected by the government.

Minus a 50% collection fee. Krauts are krazy.

[Gay State Conservative]

Sounds like there's an easy way around this...renounce your affiliation with the *government* but keep your fidelity in your heart.Contribute privately what you can to the church.

[faithhopecharity]

I personally think that the church should not wish to depend on Caesar (and his Legions) to collect its tithes...

[faithhopecharity]

nor do I believe its any good for the church
(in effect, it turns the clergy into state agents, civil servants for all practical purposes...because the source of funding can call most of the shots...anywhere...)

maybe this is a reason why the church has been losing so many parishioners in Europe? clergy who are serving Caesar instead of God and their flocks?

[fuzzylogic]

I’ve heard many liberals say, “it’s time to tax the Church”. It’s what they want.

...go ahead, try it!! Then you’ll find out EXACTLY what the “separation of Church and State” is really about.

[reg45]

When I was born, I was premature and almost died. Since I was born in a Catholic hospital, they baptized me in case I were to die. If I were in Germany, would I have to pay the church tax?

[utahagen]

I doubt many Germans who renounce their fidelity to a church are “keep[ing]fidelity in [their] heart[s]” while contributing privately what they can to their church. I believe this article provides more evidence of the secularization of the west.

[plain talk]

I had no idea this was going on in Germany. It also exists in many other countries in Europe

here is some wiki info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_tax

[sarasmom]

As a USA citizen, I find this information interesting, but nothing in the article really explains the “why’s” of this, or if it is a good or bad thing.

Why would any religion allow a government to collect tithes for them?
Was this an extra “tax” on people claiming a religious affiliation, or an allocation of already collected tax percentages?

I'm just very glad that one of my ancestors left Europe a very long time ago....

[RKBA Democrat]

If you Hand your tithes over to Caesar, don’t be surprised if your church begins to be treated as Caesars property.