Cash strapped countries might tax churches

[sillydoll]

Thousands of public officials who have seen the financial crisis hit their budgets are chipping away at the various tax breaks and privileges the church has enjoyed for centuries.
Alcala de Henares, Spain Cash-strapped officials in Europe are looking for a way to ease their financial burden by upending centuries of tradition and seeking to tap one of the last untouched sources of wealth: the Catholic Church.
Rubio, a city council member in Alcala, is leading an effort to impose a tax on all church property used for non-religious purposes. The financial impact on the Catholic Church could be devastating. As one of the largest landowners in Spain — with holdings that include schools, homes, parks, sports fields and restaurants — the church could owe up to 3 billion euros in taxes each year.
“We want to make a statement that the costs of the crisis should be borne equally by every person and institution,” said Rubio, a 36-year-old former accountant in his first term in office.

At least 100 cities in Spain have passed resolutions supporting municipal taxes on the church, and several thousand more cities are debating them, according to Europa Laica, a pro-secularism group.

Full story in the Washing Post here: http://tinyurl.com/9jjwnkv

 

[fraluchi]

“We want to make a statement that the costs of the crisis should be borne equally by every person and institution,” said Rubio, a 36-year-old former accountant in his first term in office.

Rubio's check and balances will not be easily handled. In many instances so-called "non-religious" activities are often "essentially social". The dog biting its tail :?: