Catalogue question 291 · Question catalogue in force since 2024-07-01
Why do you have to state on your tax return in Germany whether you belong to a church or not?
- There is a church tax linked to income and wage tax. Correct
- This is important for statistics in Germany.
- You have to pay more tax if you do not belong to a church.
- The church is responsible for the tax return.
Why — for every option
- A — Correct: members of certain religious communities (mainly the large churches) pay church tax, which is levied as a surcharge on income/wage tax — church membership must therefore be stated.
- B — Statistical purposes are not the legal reason for the disclosure requirement; the actual reason is the levying of church tax.
- C — The opposite is true: those who do not belong to a tax-levying religious community pay no church tax, so overall less, not more.
- D — The church itself is not responsible for the general tax return; the tax office administers tax collection, with church tax being collected on behalf of the churches as part of that.
Source: www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Last checked: · Question catalogue in force since 2024-07-01 · Every figure on this page is checked against its primary source.