[Germany] Thousands quitting church to avoid additional taxes

It is a little known fact that Germany has a mandatory tax for anyone who is baptised or Jewish. But people are questioning why they should fund institutions they don't believe in, Vice reports.

Christians and Jews in Germany pay between eight and nine per cent of their payroll tax to the church or synagogue every single month. The practice is known as Kirchensteue (“church tax” in German) or Kultussteuer (“worship tax”) and under it, worshippers help fund the religious institutions they were baptised in and registered with as children. 

Participating institutions include Catholic and Protestant churches and Jewish synagogues. Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and some other groups are exempt.

In practice, it means that someone in Berlin who earns the average monthly salary of just over €3,500 before taxes will reportedly end up paying more than €46 in church tax. The figure is calculated based on payroll tax; in Germany, this can vary between 14 and 45 per cent. Over the course of a year, in this example, the individual will be “donating” €550 to a service they may not actually use.

In 2020, the Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany collected €12 billion from these chunks of tax - €800 million less than 2019 - as a result of more Germans than ever opting to quit the church. This is partly in an effort to escape a tax that has been enshrined in German law in some form since 1919. 

In 2019 alone, over half a million people left the church, with numbers dropping drastically for both Catholic and Protestant denominations. A 2021 Report found an additional third of German believers who pay the tax considered leaving the faith last year, too. Stories of historical sexual abuse and financial scandals have also contributed to the exodus.

Carsten Frerk - a humanist and expert on church finances - told Vice that German Christians are theoretically only supposed to pay the tax once they have officially become a member of a church following their confirmation. However, in practice, anyone who has been baptised ends up having the tax deducted from their payroll at the end of the month.

Although many churches impose some form of tax on their believers, the German system is comparatively stringent. Italy and Spain require people to donate a portion of their annual income; 0.8 and 0.7 per cent annually. On a €3,500 salary (before taxes) that is around €24.50 to €28 per month compared to the €46 in Germany. Additionally, taxpayers can choose whether to send the money to a church or to a secular organisation (like a research institute), regardless of their religious affiliation. 

Other countries in Europe also require believers to pay a worship tax; like Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Mr Frerk uses France as an example of a country that takes a different approach to tithing. In France, he said, there is no church tax but rather a day when people donate to their church. "That promotes the church system," Mr Frerk says. Pastors frequently invite themselves to dinner with families in their congregation. "It's a win-win situation; the family feels honoured that the pastor is joining them and says grace," Mr Frerk said. In exchange, the church gets a modest financial leg-up.

It is quite straightforward to leave the church in Germany, in official, legal terms. An individual must be over the age of 14 and in possession of a valid passport or ID card. Each German state has slightly different rules and regulations covering the self-expulsion process. In Berlin, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia, for example, a visit to an actual court must be made. Elsewhere, a visit to a registry office will suffice. Some states ask a fee, others let people leave for free. No state, however, requires anyone to formally declare the reasons behind their decision. 

After the fee has been paid, an exit certificate will be received by post. This must be kept safe; it is irrevocable proof of legally leaving the church. If the tax office demands that an individual start paying church taxes again, this document should see those charges rescinded.

Source: Vice

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

It is a little known fact that Germany has a mandatory tax for anyone who is baptised or Jewish. But people are questioning why they should fund institutions they don't believe in, Vice reports.

Christians and Jews in Germany pay between eight and nine per cent of their payroll tax to the church or synagogue every single month. The practice is known as Kirchensteue (“church tax” in German) or Kultussteuer (“worship tax”) and under it, worshippers help fund the religious institutions they were baptised in and registered with as children. 

Participating institutions include Catholic and Protestant churches and Jewish synagogues. Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and some other groups are exempt.

In practice, it means that someone in Berlin who earns the average monthly salary of just over €3,500 before taxes will reportedly end up paying more than €46 in church tax. The figure is calculated based on payroll tax; in Germany, this can vary between 14 and 45 per cent. Over the course of a year, in this example, the individual will be “donating” €550 to a service they may not actually use.

In 2020, the Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany collected €12 billion from these chunks of tax - €800 million less than 2019 - as a result of more Germans than ever opting to quit the church. This is partly in an effort to escape a tax that has been enshrined in German law in some form since 1919. 

In 2019 alone, over half a million people left the church, with numbers dropping drastically for both Catholic and Protestant denominations. A 2021 Report found an additional third of German believers who pay the tax considered leaving the faith last year, too. Stories of historical sexual abuse and financial scandals have also contributed to the exodus.

Carsten Frerk - a humanist and expert on church finances - told Vice that German Christians are theoretically only supposed to pay the tax once they have officially become a member of a church following their confirmation. However, in practice, anyone who has been baptised ends up having the tax deducted from their payroll at the end of the month.

Although many churches impose some form of tax on their believers, the German system is comparatively stringent. Italy and Spain require people to donate a portion of their annual income; 0.8 and 0.7 per cent annually. On a €3,500 salary (before taxes) that is around €24.50 to €28 per month compared to the €46 in Germany. Additionally, taxpayers can choose whether to send the money to a church or to a secular organisation (like a research institute), regardless of their religious affiliation. 

Other countries in Europe also require believers to pay a worship tax; like Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Mr Frerk uses France as an example of a country that takes a different approach to tithing. In France, he said, there is no church tax but rather a day when people donate to their church. "That promotes the church system," Mr Frerk says. Pastors frequently invite themselves to dinner with families in their congregation. "It's a win-win situation; the family feels honoured that the pastor is joining them and says grace," Mr Frerk said. In exchange, the church gets a modest financial leg-up.

It is quite straightforward to leave the church in Germany, in official, legal terms. An individual must be over the age of 14 and in possession of a valid passport or ID card. Each German state has slightly different rules and regulations covering the self-expulsion process. In Berlin, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia, for example, a visit to an actual court must be made. Elsewhere, a visit to a registry office will suffice. Some states ask a fee, others let people leave for free. No state, however, requires anyone to formally declare the reasons behind their decision. 

After the fee has been paid, an exit certificate will be received by post. This must be kept safe; it is irrevocable proof of legally leaving the church. If the tax office demands that an individual start paying church taxes again, this document should see those charges rescinded.

Source: Vice

(Links and quotes via original reporting)