Financial contribution
Financial contribution of the Catholic Church
The Financial Contribution of the State to the Catholic Church is regulated through the “Acuerdo entre el estado Español y la Santa Sede sobre asuntos económicos”, an international agreement between the Spanish State and the Holy See, signed and published in 1979. According to this Treaty, the State could not extend indefinitely the past financial obligations with the Church. It established different measures to progressively ensure the self-financing capacity of the Church.
In 1988 the direct budget allocation from the State was substituted by the tax system allocation of 0,53% of the IRPF (income tax). In 2007, a new law established the percentage at 0.7%. In order for the Church to get this percentage, Spanish taxpayers have to select this option in their annual declaration. However, selecting this option does not imply extra costs for the individual taxpayer. In 2017, this amounted to 264.000.000 euros. The Catholic Church provides a detailed account of their activities through an Activities Report.
Economic cooperation with other religious communities:
In order to support other religious communities, the Fundación Pluralismo y Convivencia manages two grants: one targeting federations or cooperation organizations and another for local communities and worship centers. In 2017, the Federation of Evangelical Communities (FEREDE) received: 386.800 euros, the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE) received: 345.500 euros and the Federation of Jewish Communities (FCJE): 169.363€. These allocations may vary per year and are subjected to a yearly round of applications. This information is available here.
7 December 2023 Rosa Martínez-Cuadros
