Hi guys, I registered successfully in Zurich today, yet there might be some issue about religious tax.
During the registration, the registrar asked me about my religion and I replied "deist". Then he told me that there would be religious tax which I didn't quite understand because I thought every resident was required to pay church tax equally.
Now I know the religious tax for catholics is 2%, and for protestants it is 1%.
However, I am not quite sure if the registrar heard me clearly, or if he understood "deist".
So I am not sure if I was marked as catholic 2% or protestant or 1%.
I don't consider myself as atheist. Yet as deist, I don't attend church regularly. So I think I shouldn't be levied religious tax. If necessary then I think I should be levied at the rate of 1% instead of 2%.
Any suggestion? Thank you.
They don't give a f about what you believe in.
They want to know if you want to pay taxes to either the catholic church or to that wobbly conglomerate of protestant churches.
Which one is it going to be?
Go back and ask them.
If there's some confusion. Just say you are an atheist, or a Muslim, or a Hindu.
It doesn't matter in this case - it's for tax purposes only.
Not sure whether it makes any difference in the long run if you decide to apply for citizenship - I guess that's a "it depends" type thing.
Go back ASAP to the person who did your registration and ask to have it corrected. If that person is amenable/if it's not too late, it will save you hassle.
Since this was ZH, they likely registered you as Reformed (Protestant). But you'll want to clarify that.
If they can't correct the registration you might need to do a formal resignation. Here's an easy explanation in English:
https://free-thought.ch/leaving-the-church
If you are not a practicing member of one of the offical churches in Switzerland, the correct answer to the question is 'none' or 'other'.
The boss that bought me over her took me for registration and firmly told me to say NO religion otherwise bill every month..
I colleague who just casually said Church of England, had to pay quite a wedge monthly to the church. Took him ages to back out of the situation.
No problem with any belief system, only the sneaky (IMHO) Swiss approach
wow, thanks.
I have no intention to apply for citizenship.
I have already left the city hall and its already 5:20 pm now, do you think I can correct it tomorrow?
I have no intention to work in Switzerland. So the only tax is on the imputed rental value (after I purchase real estate in the future).
Have you been baptized according the rites and rules of: The holy roman-catholic church (That's the club with the Pope) The Church of England or a church belonging to the
Union of Uetrecht) ? (That's the club which are roman-catholic like, but do not like the Pope) Or a protestant church belonging to the
World Communion of Reformed Churches (That's the club with no pope, and reformers such as Luther, Zwingli, or Calvin)
If neither above is true you should not pay church tax, as you are not a club member. You can voluntarily pay, but to get full membership benefits you should fix the baptism thing and other potential rites.
If the above is however true and you are potentially a member, do you: Do you actually see yourself as a club member? Do you want to finance the local church, and maybe some higher up guys? Are you o.k. with paying taxes, and think what belongs to Cesar does also belong to the Church?
If you can answer all of the above with firm Nay, you can simply, but formally, announce the exit of the membership and avoid paying taxes.
It does not mater for citizenship. Nobody cares. One can be roman-catholic and not pay church taxes.
Considering people normally get baptised without their consent, I'd say the above is null and void.
As citizenship is decided at a local level, how can you be so sure.
To the OP: I'd go for Meloncollie's answer:
Guys, thank you so much for all the replies.
I have another question. How can I make sure whether the city hall registered me as catholic or protestant? I checked the confirmation page I signed yet
it seems that id didn't mention the religious tax.
Maybe the registrar marked me as "no religion" or "other"?
But how can I make sure?
Go back tomorrow and ask - they'll tell you.
I'm glad I started reading English Forum before arriving here, so knew this question would be asked at registration ("none" for us).
If your registration with the duty to pay church tax is declared unreversable you probably want to declare your wish to leave immediately, and with immediate effect.
Your profile says you don't speak German, so the easiest way may be to pay a visit to the
Kirchenrat Kanton Zürich
Hirschengraben 50
open 8am-5pm
044 258 91 11
it's just a short walk from the Stadthaus on the other side of the Limmat.
They handle all church matters for the entire canton Zürich (Zürich city is part of the canton Zürich), and they're highly likely to have an English speaker available (maybe give a short call in advance to make sure). Fill out the form making sure your leave is "per today's date" or "sofort" (immediate), and get a copy for yourself.
Done, enjoy the weekend
Switzerland taxes your worldwide wealth. Dividends and interest earned count as income, too, as well as income earned abroad.
And how do you know that he was registered as "Protestant" ? If you work a the city hall can't you just untick the box?
It's like a gym - once you join it's so difficult to stop paying, even if you never go to the gym again.
It's a subscription model rather than a pay-per-pray one.
It's in case the box can't be unticked. I don't remember where I got that from with the Kirchenrat.
My colleague had a long process to opt out. Including letters stating reasons and visiting the local Vicar (Alpnach Dorf). He said there was high pressure placed on him to reverse his decision.
Exactly. The German word on our registration was Konfessionslose (non-denominational). Being not of any specific confession, we ticked that box.
About half the cantons collect church tax from businesses as well - not known for their strong faith!
If it were sneaky, it'd be seeking to deceive people into opting in. It's not really that - they just need to know what your confession is so they can tax you properly. The fact that foreigners often don't understand the implications is their own problem.
According to wikipedia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland (including membership of secular humanist groups), Italy, and Sweden have church taxes. I guess they're sneaky too!
Not really, you can leave any time you chose.
The church may require confirmation some reasonable time later but that's all; in such a case it's still the date they receive your initial declaration that counts and ends your duty to pay tax.