Taxpayers' Association - Campact complains to tax offices about BdSt
The campaign organization Campact has complained to the tax authorities about six regional associations of the German Taxpayers' Association. According to the activists, the lobbying association is wrongly charitable because it is heavily involved in politics. According to information from Tuesday, Campact's main aim with the complaint is to initiate a new debate on the law on non-profit status.
Charitable activities are those that serve the general public. Organizations that are charitable are, for example, associations, foundations or institutions. Campact and the globalization-critical network Attac lost their non-profit status a few years ago following a decision by the Federal Fiscal Court. Without charitable status, donors cannot deduct their donations from their taxes. This is a serious blow for the organizations because they are largely financed by donations.
Problem: Political statement
The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) had determined that influencing public opinion in one's own interests is not charitable as political educational work. Campact now argues that the taxpayers' association also regularly takes a public stance on political decisions "in order to assert its own positions and demands". For example, the BdSt vehemently demanded the abandonment of a wealth tax before the last federal election, Campact board member Felix Kolb told the German Press Agency.
The association is of the opinion that the six regional associations of the Taxpayers' Association (BdSt) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen/Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt should lose their non-profit status. It is basing this decision on a legal opinion it commissioned itself on the activities of the BdSt. The six state associations that Campact has now complained about all have the same statutory purpose as Attac and should therefore be treated in the same way, according to the organization.
Unequal treatment incomprehensible for Campact
"Campact is not trying to take something away from the taxpayers' association," emphasized Kolb. "With our complaint, we want to demonstrate the imbalance in the interpretation of non-profit law using the example of a high-reach association." The unequal treatment of politically active civil society is detrimental to organizations that campaign for human rights, democracy, climate protection and social justice.
The non-profit law is to be politically revised. Campact expects a draft bill for early 2024. The organization is calling for commitment to fundamental and human rights, democracy, anti-discrimination, social justice and peace to be recognized as non-profit. Legislators should, for example, allow sports clubs to call for demonstrations against racism.
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- Campact has lodged complaints with tax authorities in several German states, including Bremen, Lower Saxony, and Rhineland-Palatinate, alleging that the regional associations of the German Taxpayers' Association (BdSt) should not have non-profit status due to their political activities.
- The globalization-critical network attac also lost its non-profit status following a decision by the Federal Fiscal Court, impacting their ability to receive tax-deductible donations.
- According to Campact, the BdSt regularly takes public stances on political decisions, such as advocating for the abolition of a wealth tax before the last federal election.
- The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) previously ruled that influencing public opinion in one's own interests is not considered charitable as political educational work.
- The non-profit status of Hesse, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein, and Saxony-Anhalt's regional associations of the Taxpayers' Association (BdSt) is also under scrutiny due to Campact's complaint.
- Campact argues that the six regional associations should lose their non-profit status due to their similar activities to Attac and the legal opinion they commissioned on the BdSt's activities.
- The Bremen tax office is one of the German offices receiving a complaint from Campact, adding to the ongoing debate on the law on non-profit status in Germany.
- The executive director of Campact, Felix Kolb, stated that the organization does not aim to harm the Taxpayers' Association but instead wants to expose the unequal treatment of politically active civil society in Germany.
- In response to the complaint, the National Association of German Taxpayers has argued the importance of their role in advocating for taxpayer rights and checking government spending, stating that these activities are charitable.
Source: www.stern.de
