Has the church become too greedy for money?
Well this could be a question by many considering that most churches are more into how much the congregation is contributing.
In Kampala UgandaKampala, one Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has come out strongly with a controversial proposal that seeks to have the central government deduct upto 10% from citizen’s monthly salary and forwarded to the church.
While speaking at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Rubaga during mass proceedings the Archbishop sited that alot of people in the congregation do not tithe and this affects projects carried out by the church.
In his statement he said, “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,”
“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?”
Archbishop Lwanga said he wanted Uganda to go the Germany route where Germans who are registered as Catholics, Protestants or Jews have a church tax (Kirchensteuer) of 8-9 percent deducted from their annual income. The church tax is collected by the government and channeled to the respective faiths.
“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,” he added.
The Kirchensteuer system has been in place since the 19th Century and is rooted in pre-Christian Germanic custom.
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.
Once you leave, you are no longer eligible to receive sacrament, participate in confession, confirmation or take part in church activities in Germany.
Apparently church tax is not new in some countries.Apart from Germany, other countries which deduct church tax from their citizens include, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, some parts of Switzerland and several other countries.
In 2017, the Registrar of Societies’ in Kenya urgued that churches should provide audited accounts to the government should be supported.
The churches are largely not-for-profit entities that have been tax exempt for decades. But some have investments that generate rental income, for instance.
If a church collects Sh200 million and uses only Sh50 million, the rest is income and ought to be taxed.
Do you think that the church shouls actually pay taxes?