Religious charities

looksee

I was being told at length about a friend's contribution to their local church though tax relief. Apparently the church writes to them each year suggesting that they can give significant amounts of money to the church and write it off against tax.

I suggested that this was an example of the government using public monies to support religion. The friend argued that no, it was their own donation but that they claimed it against tax. I tried again, if the money were paid directly to the government as taxes it would be used for the running of the country. In allowing it to be diverted to churches this was the government supporting religious bodies, which it could be argued is unconstitutional.

Friend could not cope with this argument; because they had signed a document donating the money to the church it was ok. I asked why, if they wanted to contribute to the church didn't they give it after tax - oh yes, we do, but this other money we can donate without it costing us anything. At this point I gave up.

This http://www.revenue.ie/en/business/authorised-charities-resident.html is a list of registered charities. Some are in fact charities, some are legitimate charities run by religious bodies, but many are simply 'trusts' of various sorts that are simply churches of one sort or another.

If we had a few priests, nuns and brothers running the country's finances all our problems would be sorted, because they certainly know how to gather in the cash...the story of Jesus and the money changers in the temple must be another of the allegories that show why the bible cannot be taken literally.

recedite

looksee wrote: »

Some are in fact charities, some are legitimate charities run by religious bodies, but many are simply 'trusts' of various sorts that are simply churches of one sort or another.

The legislation around this was updated in 2009, but the basic definition of "a charity" hasn't changed since 1601;

A charitable purpose is a purpose that is of public benefit and involves:
The prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship
The advancement of education
The advancement of religion
Any other purpose that is of benefit to the community

And therein lies the problem. The advancement of any religion is still automatically defined as a charitable act, inherently good for society.
Despite all that we have learned since 1601.

Peregrinus

looksee wrote: »

I was being told at length about a friend's contribution to their local church though tax relief. Apparently the church writes to them each year suggesting that they can give significant amounts of money to the church and write it off against tax.

Is your friend in Ireland? If they are, it might be worth looking into this a bit further. Donations to local churches typically do not attract tax relief in Ireland. Either your friend is misrepresenting (and has perhaps misunderstood) what their church is saying to them, or what the church is saying is simply wrong.

looksee wrote: »

This http://www.revenue.ie/en/business/authorised-charities-resident.html is a list of registered charities. Some are in fact charities, some are legitimate charities run by religious bodies, but many are simply 'trusts' of various sorts that are simply churches of one sort or another.

The fact that a body is on that list does not mean that donations to the body are tax-deductible.

recedite

Peregrinus wrote: »

The fact that a body is on that list does not mean that donations to the body are tax-deductible.

The title of the revenue document is "a scheme for tax relief". So why would a donation to the listed charities be taxed?
Effectively it means you are paying over a piece of your gross income, instead of a piece of your net income.
Schools ask for the "voluntary donations" to be made like this all the time. There may be a minimum threshold donation for the rebate to apply, and it would obviously depend on the donor already being a taxpayer.

looksee

Peregrinus wrote: »

Is your friend in Ireland? If they are, it might be worth looking into this a bit further. Donations to local churches typically do not attract tax relief in Ireland. Either your friend is misrepresenting (and has perhaps misunderstood) what their church is saying to them, or what the church is saying is simply wrong.


The fact that a body is on that list does not mean that donations to the body are tax-deductible.

Yes, in Ireland. It was specifically stated that the local church sends a letter asking for donations using the tax relief system, and that this has been going on for some years. I gather, though I am not sure, that it is not a letter that is sent to all parishioners, so evidently they ask only people on higher tax bands and closely connected to the church.

Advbrd

Peregrinus wrote: »

Is your friend in Ireland? If they are, it might be worth looking into this a bit further. Donations to local churches typically do not attract tax relief in Ireland. Either your friend is misrepresenting (and has perhaps misunderstood) what their church is saying to them, or what the church is saying is simply wrong.


The fact that a body is on that list does not mean that donations to the body are tax-deductible.

Hello? Are you serious? OK the weekly euro in the collection does not qualify but any portion of a donation in excess of 250 euro can effectively double in value (depending on the applicable rate of tax) under revenue approved schemes if the organisation and the donor meet the criteria.

And yes, it is the government giving religious bodies "taxpayers money".

Advbrd

looksee wrote: »

Yes, in Ireland. It was specifically stated that the local church sends a letter asking for donations using the tax relief system, and that this has been going on for some years. I gather, though I am not sure, that it is not a letter that is sent to all parishioners, so evidently they ask only people on higher tax bands and closely connected to the church.

Yes, I have been in receipt of several, not just from the RCC. I have always preferred to keep my charitable donations local, particularly lately.