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What is something that definitely should not exist? (endlesstalk.org)

submitted 11 months ago by ani@endlesstalk.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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[–] bestusername@aussie.zone 182 points 11 months ago (22 children)

Tax exemption for religious organisations.

[–] federalreverse@feddit.de 28 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Could be worse, I guess. I live in a "secular" democracy that essentially collects members fees for the Catholic and Lutheran churches (and only those two!) via the federal income tax.

[–] captainjaneway@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (4 children)

In Germany, state-recognized churches collect taxes from their members in order to finance their activities as well as wages. Everyone who is a member of an officially recognized religious group automatically gets a percentage of their monthly wage taken from their paycheck. Usually, this amounts to around 9% of income tax — with the exception of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where the church tax amounts to 8%.

For native Germans, church tax is often automatically collected. Many Germans are baptized at a young age and thereby become members of a particular church, which means they pay taxes to that church when they begin to earn income as an adult.

If you’re a foreigner moving to Germany, you can declare your affiliation to a church when you register at your local citizen’s office.

9%? That's absurd. Is there a way to remove yourself from this?

[–] wgbirne@feddit.de 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just want to clarify: It is 9% of the income tax, not 9% of the income. Still too high, but not as absurd as some people may think after reading this incorrectly. I know some people who thought that it is 9% of the income although they were paying church tax for years...

[–] captainjaneway@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Honestly I didn't realize that. That does make it a bit more reasonable but it's still a lot of the income tax. But the other explanations I've read sort of make it make sense. Churches were the original social services for the needy and Germany basically coopted the model into their tax system - rather than tearing down religious hospitals or making them private.

I get it, but it's also weird!

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