Spain may tax the Catholic Church?

darthfader

Running low on money, the Spanish Government looks at the Catholic Church for property tax revenue:

http://news.yahoo.com/amid-economic-crisis-spain-ponders-taxing-catholic-church-092208656.html

I hope that they tax all other religions in Spain. I also hope this catches on throughout the world, especially the USA, Canada, UK... man, wouldn't that be a dream come true? Where would the WTBTS move to then? Mexico? Hah!

But back to the article, you can see the GB coming out and saying that it was "Jehovah's spirt" that guided them in getting rid of the Spain branch... If I was still active and attending meetings and heard that, I would ask, why are they avoiding taxes when they tell us to pay back Caesers things to Caeser? Hypocrits!

designs

Its a start. Hope other nations follow.

apostatethunder

The Catholic church in Spain and Italy is already a big source of income to the State in terms of tourism. They own a big part of the historical patrimony of this countries. That and all the services they provide like schools, charities, etc, and the religious support to individuals, that comes without a blank check for them to run your life as they please. Not all religions are the same.

wha happened?

I don't see it. at least anytime soon

Chariklo

Well, Spain's a bit desperate and clutching at straws, isn't it?

When you're standing on the edge of a precipice, grabbing out at anything is understandable. But if there's also a hurricane blowing fiercely, even a handhold the size of the Catholic Church isn't going to do much good.

So, I agree with wha happened, on the whole, but even if they do go ahead they know that they're already slipping too fast for it to make much difference.

mP

Institutions at the core of society like the RCC never die in places like Spain or Italy. They might close hospitals but they dont hurt their old mates in the church.

mP

You must also remember that religion and government be it republican ,monarchy or anyting in between have always been different voices of the same beast. Not many people realise that the biggest political office in ancient rome was the religious office which managed and monitored all the important religions in the empire. Its no surprise that head of this very post was held by the illustrious Julius Caesar on his climb to the top.

LongHairGal

darthfader:

I read this too and think it is about time. I hope other countries follow suit.