How would you like your government to collect a mandatory Church Tax from you every year? German taxpayers have no choice in the matter.

German citizens must indicate their religious affiliation on their tax return. Based on affiliation they will most likely be obligated to pay a compulsory, annual Kirchensteuer, a Church Tax. The two largest religious communities in Germany — Catholics and Protestants — are required to pay the tax, but smaller denominations — such as Unitarians and Jewish communities — participate in the compulsory Church Tax assessment as well. The state collects the tax and passes it on to the appropriate religious community. The mandatory Church Tax amounts to 8% or 9% of income and includes a 3% collection fee that goes to the government. Should the tax be mandatory? Should it be collected by the state? These are questions that have been the subject of an ongoing debate in Germany.

How did Church Tax collection start?

With the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss (Principal Decree of the Imperial Deputation) of 1803, churches lost their constitutional role in Germany. The financial support from kings and princes who had formerly ruled the land had suddenly evaporated. Larger German states were forced to annex smaller ones, and church possessions were given to princes in need. To compensate the churches for their loss of income and to afford them new means of meeting expenditures, the government instituted a Church Tax. http://www.german-way.com/history-and-culture/germany/religion-in-germany/ The first community to introduce the Church tax was the former German state of Lippe-Detmold. It did so in 1827. In 1887, the former state of Wuerttemberg followed suit. Prussia followed in 1905/06 and Bavaria in 1912. In 1919, Church Tax collection by the state became law. In 1949, West Germany anchored the provision in its new Constitution. Since then, the state-collected Church Tax has been mandatory in Germany with one exception: East Germany ceased to collect it between 1956 and the reunification. At that time, however, the Church Tax was reintroduced in East Germany. Needless to say, the reinstatement still irritates the people in the former eastern states.

How does anyone become subject to Church Tax?

When a person is babtized, he or she automatically becomes a member of that church. No membership application is required. Only individuals who have formally left the church are exempt from paying Church Tax. Until 1965, even a non-denominational husband was obligated to pay Church Tax for his wife if she belonged to a church. He was compelled to pay the tax even if his wife did not work outside the home. My father so resented this requirement that he left the church altogether. (Read “A Matter of Faith” in my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom).

How much Church Tax is collected?

In 2011 the income from Church Tax amounted to 4.9 billion euros for the Catholic Church and 4.4 billion euros for the Protestant Church. http://www.german-way.com/history-and-culture/germany/religion-in-germany/ In 2013 this figure increased to 5.5 billion euros for the Catholic Church and 4.8 billion euros for the Protestant Church.

How is the Church Tax spent?

Although the largest portion of the churches’ income is derived from Church Tax, the houses of God also receive income from investments, leases, rents, government grants, donations and inheritances. In addition, the German state pays a combined half a billion euros to Catholic and Protestant churches to compensate them for the expropriations in 1803. Nearly three-quarters of all church income pays for personnel costs (pastors, deacons, parish helpers, clerks, educators, social workers, and the management and administrative staff). Most of the remainder pays for the construction and maintenance of buildings, pensions and reserves. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/geld/kirchensteuer-der-weg-von-gottes-geld-1.2207208 Should churches use less of their income to meet personnel costs and more to help the poor? Yes, says Pope Francis. He wants the church to care less about the preservation of the institution and more about the people who are marginalized.