Sir, ? Your report (Home News, December 29th) on a legacy of ?678,330 willed to the Diocese of Killaloe for the education of young men to become priests and to promote vocations is an extraordinary gift, as the diocese?s director of vocations said. But it is not just the deceased benefactor who has been generous; so has the exchequer, to the extent of ?170,000 in gift or inheritance taxes which our ?republic? continues to exempt churches from, despite the constitutional prohibition on the endowment of religion, and the perilous financial state of the country.
If the same amount had been left to Sean or Maire Citizen there would have been an inheritance tax of this amount payable on it, an amount which would increase to ?203,500 following the recent Budget.
The 90 priests of Killaloe whose bishop, Kieran O?Reilly, says are having to give their own money ? from ?1,000 to ?3,000 per annum ? to the diocese are, if typical, benefiting from rent-free accommodation which is not treated as taxable benefit-in-kind for their income tax purposes, as it ought be and would be with most PAYE workers. The privileged tax treatment of institutional churches is a legacy of King Charles; this is no justification for its continuance and its effective enlargement as ordinary citizens face increased taxes of every kind. ? Yours, etc,
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nsswtps/~3/09Eb8j5EN7w/1224309714816.html
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