TestZen · Einbürgerungstest · Practice

291. Why must one indicate on the German tax return whether one belongs to a church or not? Because …

Official German wording

Warum muss man in Deutschland bei der Steuererklärung aufschreiben, ob man zu einer Kirche gehört oder nicht? Weil …

  1. das für die Statistik in Deutschland wichtig ist.
  2. es eine Kirchensteuer gibt, die an die Einkommen- und Lohnsteuer geknüpft ist.
  3. man mehr Steuern zahlen muss, wenn man nicht zu einer Kirche gehört.
  4. die Kirche für die Steuererklärung verantwortlich ist.

Answer options

  1. that is important for statistics in Germany.
  2. there is a church tax that is linked to income tax and wage tax.
  3. you have to pay more taxes if you do not belong to a church.
  4. the church is responsible for the tax return.

Correct answer

there is a church tax that is linked to income tax and wage tax.

Explanation

In Germany, church tax is levied by the Länder tax authorities under the state church-tax acts; its base is the assessed income/wage tax (typically 8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, 9% elsewhere). The legal foundation is Article 140 of the Basic Law in conjunction with Article 137(6) of the Weimar Constitution, which grants public-law religious corporations the right to levy taxes. Declaring religious affiliation on the tax return (or via the ELStAM payroll system) serves solely to assess church tax correctly; non-members owe no church tax, and churches are not responsible for the tax return. Formal withdrawal from the church terminates liability from the following month, subject to Länder formalities and data-protection rules.

Official sources

The German questions come from the original BAMF catalog for the Einbürgerungstest and Leben in Deutschland. Translations and explanations are study aids; verify legal details in the official sources.