What about the liquidation of the Church Fund? The pace of work of the interdepartmental team raises doubts

On Friday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke about the finances of the Church – it is about the Church Fund, i.e. money that flows to Churches and religious associations from the state budget. – I am not interested in a spectacular war – assures the head of government.

Liquidation of the fund is one of a hundred specifics of the Civic Coalition during the campaign. The prime minister wants the faithful to decide whether and to what extent they want to finance their churches. A special interdepartmental team met on this matter on Friday for only the second time. The first meeting was in February. However, there are no results so far.

The team is led by the leader of the Polish People's Party, and its work is to be accelerated so that in September it can propose a ready-made idea for changes. “I really like the proposals related to the tax deduction,” says Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister.

READ ALSO: The Church Fund has doubled in a decade. Where does the money from the state budget go?

According to information from TVN's “Fakty”, the tax deduction is currently the closest idea to implementation. The deduction would be similar to that for public benefit organizations, meaning that everyone who settles their annual PIT will be able to decide whether a percentage of their tax – it is not yet known what – will be donated to a chosen church. The changes are to be coordinated by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy.

– The state budget and the Church Fund, which we want to liquidate, cannot be the main source of financing for social insurance contributions for clergy – points out Sebastian Gajewski, deputy minister family, work and social policy.

The Church Fund is currently over 250 million złoty, intended mainly to finance the health and insurance contributions of the clergy. According to the Catholic Church – it is only a percentage of the entire budget of churches. The system in which the faithful pay the contributions of the clergy operates in many European countries and churches do not lose on it, but in Poland the clergy are against it.

– The Polish discussion about the Church Fund is an election swindle and beating around the bush – says Rev. Prof. Andrzej Kobyliński, philosopher and ethicist from Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University.

SEE ALSO: The Church Fund is a “relic of old times”. The Minister on two possible solutions

Many experts, however, predict that large churches will probably cope. Smaller religious associations will have a harder time. – The Church and religious associations currently have funds at their disposal to take care of their own affairs – argues Katarzyna Piekarska, an MP from the Civic Coalition. – I think it works well, but if there are areas where it can be improved, then let's do it, but not to turn something completely upside down – believes Piotr Kaleta, an MP from Law and Justice.

PiS, as you can see, is unlikely to support the changes. There may not be complete agreement within the coalition itself either. – There may not be, because there are four parties that form the coalition and may have different opinions on this matter – indicates Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

The Prime Minister seems determined, however, and announces that there will be changes in the Fund. – If we have trouble agreeing on one opinion, someone will have a different opinion, and I have committed myself to resolving the issue of abandoning the Church Fund as financing – assures Donald Tusk. A separate issue is the gigantic subsidies that have been flowing in recent years to various businesses run by the clergy. There is no need for a special act here – the Prime Minister claims that the state has stopped financing them.