The Church Goes Into Business. Hundreds of Millions of Zlotys in Tax-Free Profit
In 2022 alone, church businesses generated nearly 324 million in profits, on which they did not pay a single penny in tax. Although churches earn money in secular industries such as real estate rental, hotel business or construction, they benefit from a special provision thanks to which – unlike secular entrepreneurs – they can keep all the profits for themselves.
How many businesses does the Church run in Poland? It is not known, because neither the Polish Episcopal Conference nor Ministry of Finance do not keep such registers. Estimating the phenomenon is additionally difficult because any so-called church legal person, i.e. any parish, religious order, caritas, diocese and so on, can conduct business activity.
However, we can learn about the approximate scale of the Church's business activity in Poland thanks to a special tax reliefwhich is granted to churches and religious associations running a businessThanks to it, they do not have to pay income tax (CIT) like secular entrepreneurs.
– In terms of tax law, the Church is clearly privileged as an entrepreneur. Secular entrepreneurs must pay tax on their income. However, the Church does not actually have to pay this tax – says Prof. Paweł Borecki from the Department of Religious Law at the University of Warsaw.
Metropolitan of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz Radek Pietruszka / PAP
.According to data from the Ministry of Finance, in 2022, 1,008 church entities conducting business activities earned almost PLN 324 million, on which they did not pay a single zloty of tax.
Although the relief applies to all churches and religious associations, the Catholic Church is the hegemon in Poland, so it can be assumed that the lion's share of businesses (and profits) belongs to it.
What Church does business in Poland and why does it not have to pay tax?
Fewer believers, more businesses
Money flows into the Church in three streams. The first is revenue from so-called statutory activities, i.e. money from the collection plate, fees for sacraments, offerings for masses, and so on. The tax office has nothing to look for here. This stream of money is not taxed. What's more, according to the law, the Church does not even have to report to officials on this part of its revenue. Therefore, it does not publicly disclose the amounts involved, but Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, the Metropolitan of Warsaw, revealed in 2013 that “over 6 billion zlotys is support offered on the collection plate by the faithful” annually. This figure applied to the whole of Poland.
Read more after logging in
Get access to premium content free and ad-free