Posted on 03/31/2015 4:18:36 AM PDT by marshmallow
Luca Toni reportedly failed to pay church taxes while playing for Bayern Munich in Germany
Italian footballer Luca Toni could be taken to court by the Catholic Church in Germany over unpaid church taxes, according to reports.
According to Sport Mediaset, Toni did not pay the Kirchensteuer (church tax) while playing for Bayern Munich from 2007 to 2010 and a trial is now possible as the German Church attempts to claw back around €1.7m.
It has has been reported that Toni, who currently play for Hellas Verona in Serie A, was initially registered by his accountant as an atheist, but later this registration was later changed to Catholic.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicherald.co.uk ...
Catholic Jizya?
It's a European thing. Many of these countries the government collects a tax and gives it to the local church of whatever religion you belong to.
Generally, most Germans quit the Church (doesn’t matter if they are Catholic or Protestant) by the time they start to make real money, but after they get married. Generally, it’s a one-way deal and you don’t go back five or ten years later to re-convert....like this guy did.
My guess is that he made the big money as a player...paid his regular state taxes and avoided the church tax. Then as he retired and went back to the quiet life...he said he was Catholic again. Church isn’t buying off on the reconversion and they want the money he avoided paying for that period.
The case won’t be easy for the court to screw the guy. If the accountant did the paperwork correct on both occasions...then there’s no basis for the church to grab his income from their gimmick tax deal. He could actually quit the church again....if he desired.
First off, it would be the polar opposite of a Catholic jizya, since in a jizya it's the non-believers, not the faithful of the dominant religion, that get taxed. Specifically, it's the non-Muslims who pay the jizya to the Muslim state.
Read a better explanation, please (Jimmy Akin Link)
If people officially announce ---for the record, to the government --- that they have left the Catholic Church, why would they be demanding Sacraments? Is the Church legally required to offer sacraments to non-Catholics now?
Very recently FReepers were supporting that priest in the Archdiocese of Washington who refused Holy Communion to a woman who was a practicing lesbian and Buddhist. But in this case the Catholic Church is supposed to say, "That's OK, Catholic Sacraments are a public utility now"?
The complicating factor is that in the 19th century, the German state seized a lot of buildings and property from various churches, and then instituted this form of funding as a kind of reimbursement. It's not the sort of thing that's done in the USA --- for which I'm glad, because under our Constitution it would be considered "excessive entanglement" --- but it's a voluntary collection from people who voluntarily identify as Catholics. Same for Lutherans, or whatever church they want to designate.
It's certainly no question of money. It is contrary to Canon Law to charge for a Sacrament, or deny any person a Sacrament on account of money. It is a question of having made a public rejection of Catholicism.
To make my own position clear, I think the Church Tax has had a really bad effect on German churches (Catholic as well as those rooted in the Reformation). It's made the German clergy rich, proud,and unconcerned that their churches are emptying as people fall away from the Faith...as long as they pay the tax. Although the history and the intentions were understandable (especially in terms of reimbursing churches whose properties were stolen by the German State and, earlier, by the various German principalities) the present impact is, as I see it, deeply corrupting.
I thought I understood it correctly since the Church is charging him
during his time as a Non-Catholic, IE unbeliever. Jizya fits here imo.
Did I get the facts wrong about him being charged during his unbeliever phase?
You won't find me defending the German prelates here. Just based on the little info we have, their pastoral care for him seems pretty thin.
The Church Tax doesn't change the amount of one's tax bill. If a person de-couples from the Church (and this is a formal act, it requires appearing personally and testifying that one is no longer a member of said church) --- you are still taxed the same amount, but the money goes to the government.
So it seems the German Bishops should be making demands on the Government, not on this guy. Because the government got the money.
If I'm understanding this correctly.
The above statements are not true.
Thank you for the correction. Could you give me a link? I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure I read this somewhere. I don’t remember where, so I could very well be mistaken.
I thought the quote was linkable. It’s from the Telegraph.
Thanks for the link. I am convinced that the German Church Tax is a HUGE source of the corruption of the German Catholic hierarchy. (And the Protestants as well.) Just appalling.
I agree. I think that’s why the majority of German bishops are pushing for Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried, co-habitating couples, etc.
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