The money entrusted to us

The main source of income for work is the membership fees of the church members: the church tax or “Kirchensteuer”. In Lower Saxony this equates to a charge of 9 percent of income tax. The church tax can be tax-deducted as a special expense on people’s annual income tax return.

The church tax is collected by the tax office. In return the Church pays a fee of 4 per cent to the State. This is cost-effective for the Church, as to administer this itself would cost approximately 15 to 20 per cent of the church tax income.

But where does this form of funding come from? For a long time in Germany the evangelical churches were closely tied to the political authorities within the regional territories. At the beginning of the 19th century the State widely expropriated church lands. As compensation, in the states of the German Reich they were gradually given the right to collect church taxes.

In the Weimar constitution after the First World War, the State and Church were separated. The State did not want to assume the wide-ranging social duties and responsibilities of the church and in exchange ensured that the Church could have its own income. The German Federal Republic integrated the “Weimarer Kirchenartikel” into the constitution.

The church tax is not the only source of income for the church, though. It represents approximately 70 per cent of its income, fluctuating from year to year. In Brunswick that equals around 70 million Euro. In addition to this there are donations and collections, income from capital investment, financial and business management, and also income from reserve funds. Furthermore grants are awarded by the German State at federal, regional and local levels in recognition of the fact that with their work the churches promote public welfare and relieve the State. In the medium and long term, the Church of Brunswick faces the challenge of ever-declining income.

The finances of the Church are managed and audited openly and democratically. Anyone can view the budget of their parish, priory and also the Church as a whole. The auditing office ensures the money is used properly.

However the income from church taxes fluctuates. The reasons for this are varied: unemployment, but also workers moving away from the territory of the Church, tax reforms, and most notably demographic change. The increase in the number of ol-der people in Germany leads to less and less money flowing into the church coffers, as pensioners, as a rule, pay very little church tax.

Therefore a special church fee for marriages of different faiths, which was introduced in 2000, was designed to boost tax equality. This means that even members with no or only minimal income, must now contribute to financing the utilisation of church services on a means-tested basis. The new procedure for deducting church tax from capital gains is designed solely to simplify the administration of the funds. It does not entail a new church tax.