Church tax
State-imposed tax to fund churches / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A church tax is a tax collected by the state from members of some religious denominations to provide financial support of churches, such as the salaries of its clergy and to pay the operating cost of the church. Not all countries have such a tax. In some countries that do, people who are not members of a religious community are exempt from the tax; in others it is always levied, with the payer often entitled to choose who receives it, typically the state or an activity of social interest.
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (June 2017) |
The constitution of a number of countries could be and have been interpreted as both supporting and prohibiting the levying of taxes unto churches; prohibiting church tax could separate church and state fiscally, but it could also be favorable treatment by the government.[1] The term "church tax" could mean a tax levied on a religious organisation by a state, or relate to tax exemptions and so on for churches, but this article is about a tax levied on individuals.