Withholding church tax makes sense?
A tax rate of currently 25 percent has been levied on investment income in Germany since 2009. When calculating the tax burden, in addition to the solidarity surcharge, you should not forget the church tax, because this must also be paid if you belong to the corresponding church. From 2015 onwards, the withholding will take place automatically. If this does not make sense, you can file an objection.
Sensible simplification of the church tax deduction for investment income
Since 2014, credit institutions have been obliged to check whether their customers are subject to church tax. From 2015, this tax will be collected automatically if the taxpayer is a member of the Catholic or Protestant Church.
The church tax rate in most federal states is nine percent. Only in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg is it slightly lower at eight percent. As for the solidarity surcharge, the withholding tax is the basis for calculation. Accordingly, the church tax is not based on the total Investment income determined.
Previously, there was also an obligation to pay church tax on investment income, but savers could do this via individual orders via the bank or subsequently via the tax return. The changes result in Banks In the future, the data on religious affiliation will have to be automatically queried from the Federal Central Tax Office.
The legislator justifies the fact that the withholding of church tax makes sense because it serves to simplify matters. As a result, taxpayers no longer have to manually inform the credit institution and church tax no longer has to be set via income tax. The automated process also reduces the workload for banks.
Disadvantages of automated retention
Although the regulations on withholding church tax on investment income are fundamentally due to the simplification can be described as useful, there are reasons why some taxpayers choose not to could.
The introduction of the final withholding tax (2009) should make tax returns easier. Because …
Because thanks to the rules for automated queries, banks know even more details about their customers. You can already understand the earnings and financial circumstances, as well as the buying behavior. In the future, they will also know who they belong to a religious community and whether they have left the church.
If you, as a taxpayer, do not agree to the disclosure of your religious affiliation data, you can object to this procedure. With this possibility of objection, the legislator would like to comply with the applicable data protection guidelines. You then have to declare and pay the tax retrospectively in your income tax return.
The objection to the transfer of data must be submitted to the Federal Central Tax Office. A so-called blocking note must be applied for there. Such a note means that the data will no longer be passed on automatically. However, you should apply for the blocking notice in good time. As a rule, this must be done by the age of 30. June so that the change can be taken into account in the current year. If the application is submitted too late, the change will not take effect until the following year.
(All information as of June 2014)
