The War On Christmas Just Won’t End

[Thorne]

Who else shall pay for it? You yourself wrote earlier: "Atheists don't object to Christmas, per se, but to government officials promoting Christmas at the expense of other religious groups, while using public funds."
And we have to remember: a considerable part of that tax money (not all of it, alas) goes back to society in form of social work like hospitals, kindergartens, women's refuges etc, and not only within those countries, but also in regions of the Third World.

Actually, the way these taxes are done isn't what's bothering me. I agree, those who attend those churches should be responsible for their costs. And taxing those who attend those churches is one way to do it. That let's those who do NOT attend off the hook, not having to pay for the churches'. I just don't like the idea of forcing church members, through a government run tax scam, to pay a particular amount. I always thought that people donated to the church of their choice, and were not forced to pay a fee to be a member.

Here it sounds like the governments are collecting this tax for individual churches, skimming some off the top (to cover their own "costs", no doubt) and then paying the money to the churches. Why not let the churches collect their own funds, the way they do here in the US? Then tax the churches on their income, with deductions for charitable works, which the churches would have to document themselves. Basically treat them just like any business, leaving them with the burden of keeping the records, paying their taxes, or being seized and sold off to cover their tax debt.

[Venom]

Here it sounds like the governments are collecting this tax for individual churches, skimming some off the top (to cover their own "costs", no doubt) and then paying the money to the churches. Why not let the churches collect their own funds, the way they do here in the US?

The church tax is not a fix amount, it's a percentage of the income tax (in Germany, for example, 8 respectively 9%, depending in which federal state one lives). Since tax information comes under data protection, it cannot be given to the churches to collect the money.

And letting everybody, rich and poor alike, pay the same total amount is considered unfair, so said tax information is needed.

[Thorne]

Since tax information comes under data protection, it cannot be given to the churches to collect the money.

No, that's not what I was suggesting. Rather, let the churches collect from their constituents whatever the people wish to donate, rather than as a tax. Having the government collect the tax FOR the churches seems rather archaic. A holdover of the feudal system, perhaps?

And letting everybody, rich and poor alike, pay the same total amount is considered unfair, so said tax information is needed.

But forcing people to pay to attend a church? That just doesn't seem right. You either pay because you believe, and believe it is right for you to pay, or you don't pay at all. This seems to me to be a way to make certain that the churches collect enough money to keep from going bankrupt. Unless you do the same for other businesses it just seems wrong.