According to a survey, many Germans consider the church tax to be outdated. In Germany it amounts to eight or nine percent of salary and income tax. A look abroad shows that there are other financing systems:
- Great Britain and Portugal: The state church in Great Britain and the Catholic Church in Portugal are financed from their own assets. In Portugal, parishioners can also spend 0.5 percent of their income for religious purposes.
- Belgium and Greece: In Belgium and Greece, shepherds are paid by the state. Municipalities are legally required to maintain the buildings and mainly use donations to do so.
- Italy and Spain: In Italy, 0.8 percent of income tax is paid to recognized religious communities or humanitarian causes. Each taxpayer decides anew each year who the money goes to. That is why the Catholic Church, for example, advertises the donation in commercials. This system is also applied in Spain, but the tax rate is 0.7 percent.
- USA: In the United States, the law prohibits the collection of a church tax. The church is funded by donations and targets potential patrons with campaigns. The church receives additional funds from his own income from his large fortune.
- France: In France, churches depend on voluntary contributions from their members. In addition to donations, there is a cultural contribution, which amounts to one percent of members’ income and is paid voluntarily by about 45 percent of Catholics.
- Austria: In Austria, similar to the German system, the church contribution is calculated from the annual taxable income of the members. In the case of the Catholic Church, it is about 1.1 percent of gross income, which is not collected by the State but by the dioceses themselves.
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