FYI: The state keeps a percentage of the tax as an administrative fee as well. Each federal state apparently keeps 2 to 4.5% percent of the tax as an administration fee.
So the state is basically the collector of said tax.
Re:German Church Tax
by thecleaner on Sunday November 17, 2019 @11:08AM
(#21558497)
Yes but people seem to have a religion other than Christianity. I guess the government is a bit unaware of the fact.
Note you're not just getting out of the tax, you're getting out of your church (or equivalent depending on religion). To take Catholic Church for example you can no longer get married in a church, cannot get a church funeral, can't be the godfather of a child or such.
The 30 Euro is just burocracy since the decision gets notarised. Same cost if you get married, a little less to get proof of residency. It's not meant as deterrent.
Personally I'd prefer state and church to be more separate here, even if it means double bookkeeping and extra cost (the Churches would have to deal with all the monthly money transactions). But the Wikipedia article goes into the historical context and it's unlikely to go away soon.