This has prompted Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga to front a controversial proposal that seeks to have the central government deduct 10% from people’s monthly salary and forwarded to the church.
This system known as Kirchensteuer is whereby church tax is imposed on members of some religious congregations in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, some parts of Switzerland and several other countries.
The Kirchensteuer system has been in place since the 19th Century and is rooted in pre-Christian Germanic custom.
Membership in the religious community is stored in a database at the Federal Tax Office which employers receive excerpts of for the purpose of withholding tax on paid income. If an employee’s data indicate membership in a tax-collecting religious community, the employer must withhold church tax prepayments from their income in addition to other tax prepayments.
In connection with the final annual income tax assessment, the state revenue authorities also finally assess the church tax owed. In the case of self-employed persons or of unemployed taxpayers, state revenue authorities collect prepayments on the church tax together with prepayments on the income tax.
Those who do not want to pay the tax can leave the church by making an official declaration stating they are leaving the faith and millions have left the catholic church because of it.
“I was told Germans make agreements with their government to deduct monthly tithe from their salaries and forward it to the church and this money they use to build and renovate their churches,” Kizito said.
“Give me your support as I front this proposal because it is good for us. Aren’t you tired of putting money in the baskets all the time?”
Once you leave, you are no longer eligible to receive sacrament, participate in confession, confirmation or take part in church activities in Germany.
Speaking at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Rubaga during mass, the Catholic Archbishop said many Christians don’t tithe and this affects projects by the church.
“Whenever we ask for tithe, everyone gives only what they have at that time. But the Bible says a tenth of whatever you earn belongs to the church,” said Archbishop Lwanga.
The Kirchensteuer system has been in place since the 19th Century and is rooted in pre-Christian Germanic custom.
If, however, religious communities choose to collect church tax themselves, they may demand that the tax authorities reveal taxation data of their members to calculate the contributions and prepayments owed. In particular, some smaller communities (e.g. the Jewish Community of Berlin) choose to collect taxes themselves to save collection fees the government would charge otherwise.
A study had revealed going to church could help you live longer.
“Attendance in church promotes self-discipline and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, or it could provide an experience of the transcendent,” said Tyler J. VanderWeele, professor of epidemiology in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. VanderWeele led the new research, which was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
“Our study suggests that for health, the benefits outweigh the potentially negative effects,” such as guilt, anxiety or intolerance, VanderWeele said.
Either ways the church tax seems to be a reason why people will live the church in fear of financial stress.Do you support Bishop Kizito’s plan for church development or think there is a better method.