The Study On Taxing Legal Issues Of Religious Organizations

Religion is the “sacred thing” concerning human soul and spirit,but religious organizations exist in the “secularity”.Religious organizations have both religious and economic characteristics.With the further development of market economy,the secular religious organizations have a tendency to commercialize,which results in the interweaving and blending of “sacrament” and “secularity” of religious organizations,which not only injures religious doctrines but also makes them unbearable.The newly revised Regulations on Religious Affairs of China in 2018 added the tax system for religious organizations and their clergy,and for tax authorities to implement tax administration for religious organizations and their clergy.However,the theoretical exploration,empirical research and even scientific research achievements on tax-related laws,jurisprudence and rules of religious organizations and faculty members in China,they are still rare species.These principled tax management systems aren't comprehensive,fails to solve the substantive problems.In view of this,the necessity,particularity,legitimacy and practical feasibility of tax-related legal regulation for religious organizations and teaching staff are explored in a series of special values.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the full text is divided into six chapters.Chapter 1 interprets the economic self-consistency and tax regulation of religious organizations.By comparing the two cases in China and abroad,it is concluded that religious organizations in China do not lack the participation of secular economy or even commercial activities,but there is a lack of specific tax norms for the economic behavior of religious organizations in China.Although religious organizations have the basic function of practicing religious beliefs,they have self-consistency with the economy based on their inherent needs for survival and development,as well as the influence of believers and external economic environment.When the economic and economic behavior of religious organizations lacks self-discipline and other self-discipline are not persist,it will inevitably affect the purpose of their creation and religious doctrine,but also affect the overall economic order of society.Therefore,it is necessary to regulate the economic behavior of religious organizations through specific tax legal system.Chapter 2 analyzes the problems of tax laws of religious organizations in China.At present,China has initially formed relatively principled tax norms for religious organizations.As a result,the connotation and denotation of religious organizations as tax payers are not clear,and the administrative norms of their business practices have replaced the taxable norms.The taxable standards of religious organizations are inaccurate,and the tax supervision of religious organizations is mere formality and has not been implemented in practice.The reason is that the tax laws of religious organizations in our country lag far behind the change of the concept of wealth of religious organizations and the development of self-profitability and enhanced profitability in the economy.The self-supporting policies of religious organizations are alienated in reality,and the self-supporting policies are magnified as self-supporting tax-free policies or religious tax exemption policy.The analysis of the status and income of teaching staff,lack of appropriate supporting norms.Therefore,the legal regulations of tax revenue of religious organizations in China is of realistic urgency.Chapter 3 reveals the review of the tax-related legal theory of religious organizations.Under the system of the unity of religion and politics,the state gives direct financial subsidies and tax support to religious organizations,which are restricted by the historical status,national beliefs and social functions of religious organizations.However,this policy not only affects the fiscal and religious relations,but also affects the freedom of religious belief of the public.Therefore,the separation of religion and politics and indirect fiscal and tax support become inevitable choice.Unlike the West,religion dominated politics or the unity of politics and religion in ancient Chinese history,but there was never lack of the connection between state power and religion or various economic and tax revenue of religious organizations.Because of the need of politics,economy and society,the state's fiscal and taxation policies towards religious organizations are extremely unstable,religious organizations flourished and declined because of the repeated decrees of “no tax and no military service” and “have tax and have military service”.In modern countries where religion and politics are separated,religious organizations are generally regulated by non-profit organizations for their non-profit purposes,except that their religion is treated cautiously when dealing with the relationship between religion and politics.The indirect financial support and continuous and stable tax norms given by the state to religious organizations are not only conducive to the normal development of religious organizations,but also conducive to the political and religious relations between the state and religious organizations.Therefore,to construct and improve the tax norms of religious organizations is the necessary content of taxation in modern countries of separating the church and the state.Chapter 4 explores the particularity of religious organizations and the legitimacy of tax collection and exemption.The particularity of religious organizations lies in their religion.Although religious organizations have their particularities,they are legally justified in taxing or exempting them.First of all,citizens enjoy the rights stipulated by the Constitution and the law,and also have the obligation to pay taxes in accordance with the law.Units and individuals shall be taxpayers who are obligated to pay taxes as stipulated in laws and administrative regulations.Religious organization is a group of citizens based on freedom of religious belief.It belongs to a part of the national society.While it has the basic constitutional right of religious freedom,it also has the duty to pay taxes.Secondly,the right of taxation is a manifestation of national sovereignty.Religious organizations have the right of organizational autonomy of the same kind of national sovereignty.State tax exemption of religious organizations helps to protect their independence to a certain extent,but the State Taxation of religious organizations does not mean interference in their autonomy.In the system of separation of church and state,the autonomy of religious organizations is under the sovereignty of the state.As the embodiment of the autonomy of religious organizations,religious organizations should also abide by secular economic norms,including tax laws.Thirdly,the freedom of religion is embodied in the inner freedom of spiritual belief and the freedom to engage in legitimate religious activities,but this freedom is absolutely not limited freedom.Religious organizations are not exempted from the duty to pay taxes according to law because they enjoy religious freedom.Even in a country where religion and politics are united,religious organizations are subject to certain restrictions on their freedom while receiving tax exemption or financial support.Finally,the principle of separation of church and state requires the separation of state power from religious organizations.The state is required not to reward or prohibit specific religions,or to give preferential treatment or criticism to people's specific beliefs.But the separation of religion and politics is not absolute separation.Whether it is taxing or exempting religious organizations,it will cause the connection between the government and religious organizations to some extent.Tax exemption or taxation of religious organizations does not necessarily violate the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.The legislative purpose of tax exemption and taxation is neither to promote and advocate religion nor to suppress and oppose religion.Similar to religious organizations,such as schools,libraries,charitable foundations,etc.,are usually exempted from taxes by the state because they are generally considered to be able to coexist in harmony with society and promote the existence of social diversity.To sum up,the state has constitutionality or legal legitimacy whether it exempts or levies taxes on religious organizations.Chapter 5 introduces foreign experience of tax law system of religious organizations.Religious organizations engaged in economic activities has become a common phenomenon in many countries and regions.With the increasing commercialization of religious organizations,most countries and regions have changed their treatment in tax law,changed complete tax exemption to conditional tax exemption,and imposed social responsibility for public welfare and charity,but the specific practices are different.The Mainland Tax Law of the United States stipulates the main elements for religious organizations to obtain tax exemption,including substantive elements,formal elements,identity restrictions and the loss of tax exemption qualifications.It regulates the business activities of religious organizations by setting “unrelated business income tax” and “unrelated debt-financed income”.At the same time,it stipulates complete information disclosure including application materials,annual reports,donation informations and other contents,as well as tax auditing system when necessary.Japan has set up a certification system for religious legal persons to stipulate the qualification of the main elements;the level of its public welfare is of great significance to the amount of tax levied on religious organizations.Japan's Law on Religious Legal Persons stipulates that religious legal persons can operate for-profit undertakings and bear tax liability at a tax rate lower than that of ordinary legal persons.A system of religious juridical person deliberation is set up between religious authorities and religious organizations as a buffer to solve the problem.At the same time,the tax preferences and expenditure restrictions for religious legal persons are stipulated.When necessary,the tax investigation system and even the illegal activities of religious legal persons in making profits can be compulsory dissolution of religious legal persons.The main body classification of religious organizations is stipulated in Taiwan,and the related tax issues of religious organizations are specified in more than ten tax items,such as income tax for profit-making enterprises,housing tax and land price tax.The economic behavior of religious organizations is to judge whether it belongs to the income sale of goods or services by giving charity of the believers or setting certain fee standards.Religious organizations have strict requirements for public welfare and charity,and 60% of their annual funds can only be used for public welfare purposes according to law,and reward the activists.To sum up,when religious organizations are inevitably and objectively engaged in economic or even commercial activities,reflecting on the specific problems of China's mainland can be used for reference.Chapter 6 discusses the construction and perfection of the tax system of religious organizations in China.Under the policy of the central government to improve the level of legalization of religious work,we should actively make good use of the fiscal and taxation system to regulate the economic behavior of religious organizations and regulate the relevant economic relations of religious organizations.Specifically,religious organizations should be refined and their tax revenue should be specifically stipulated;the connotation and extension of tax payers of religious organizations should be clarified;the economic characteristics of religious organizations should be emphasized,the principle of prohibiting organizations from over-commercializing should be changed,and economic or commercial activities should be allowed to be carried out,and tax laws should be used to regulate them,including: The regulation of the income of teaching staff;the adjustment of the multiple distinction criteria of tax payable and tax exemption of religious organizations,which are mainly religious and economic,and the implementation of the combination criteria of “levy commerce and self-reliance return”;the change of the negative positioning of non-profit organizations of religious organizations,the adoption of positive legal positioning of charitable subjects for public welfare;and the general absence of tax deduction qualifications of religious organizations.To allow religious organizations to issue tax deduction vouchers for donations with clear directions and purposes;to implement tax incentives or incentives for charitable acts of religious organizations;to change the traditional concept and treat them equally with others;to increase the scope of information disclosure of religious organizations and to implement tax registration;and to implement a ladder system for improper and illegal acts of religious organizations.At the same time,we should also pay attention to the coordination of relevant legal norms,such as the standardization of self-supporting policies,the self-construction of religious organizations,etc.To sum up,it is feasible to improve and construct the tax system of religious organizations in China.