From Catholic News Service

Spanish taxpayers get premarked forms routing gifts away from Church

By Lynn Wehnes, Catholic News Service

MADRID, Spain (CNS) -- The Spanish revenue agency has sent taxpayers their income tax forms with the boxes allowing for voluntary contributions to either the Catholic Church or other nonprofit organizations already checked off, often incorrectly.

According to the Madrid daily La Razon, thousands of forms were premarked with the nonprofits box as the recipient. The paper claimed the forms were being manipulated to decrease funding to the church at a time when the church is negotiating its financing with the government.

The forms are designed to allow taxpayers to indicate whether they wish to direct 0.52 percent of their income tax to the Catholic Church, to other nonprofit organizations, to split the percentage between the church and other nonprofits, or to make no designation.

The Catholic Church was financed by the Spanish government during the 36-year rule of Gen. Francisco Franco. The church still depends heavily on a large annual government grant, which includes money earmarked by citizens on their income tax declarations.

Pedro Solbe, Spanish minister of the economy and the treasury, denied the government was manipulating the forms. He said the forms merely reproduced the choices taxpayers had made last year.

Sources in the Ministry of Economy and Treasury told Catholic News Service April 27 the government had decided this system would be more convenient for taxpayers because, otherwise, "the great majority of them might decide not to check off anything."

The sources did not deny that in many cases this year the boxes checked off were not the same ones taxpayers checked last year, but said this was not the government's fault.

"It must be that someone else who saw people's forms last year changed them -- a friend, the bank," or a tax agent who fills out tax forms and performs other administrative chores, one source said.

The source added that the department had not received any complaints from the church and that people who did not like the way their boxes had been premarked could change them either by phone, in person or online.

However, a reporter for La Razon indicated he had made numerous calls to the phone number set aside for the public to make the changes and said he was unable to reach anyone.

On April 26, the Spanish bishops' conference unveiled its campaign to remind people to mark the box for the church.

"Don't forget to mark the X!" said the announcement, disseminated in parishes and through the media. "It's as easy as that. On your declaration of income, put the X in the church's box."

Luis Pedroche, head of the agency within the Ministry of the Economy and Treasury charged with collecting income tax, announced April 26 that next year's forms will be changed so that taxpayers will be reminded to choose a box.

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