Opodatkowanie spadków i darowizn? Wolność religijna a swoboda finansowania kościołów i związków wyznaniowych
Taxation of bequests and donations? Religious freedom and freedom of financing Churches and religious associations

Summary/Abstract: Religious freedom and religious tolerance, to a great extent, can be dependent on the financial status and independence of religious associations. The question about the way of shaping the financial standing of Churches and religious organizations in a democratic state of law arises more and more often today. There are studies conducted, whose aim is to show possible solutions that are accepted in different countries, primarily those lying within the European Union. What is fundamental is how financing of religious organizations is managed so that religious freedom could develop in a truly genuine way. Thus, in the Western legal culture, there is a most significant departure in progress from the paradigm of cuius regio eius religio. In a broader perspective, this is a significant question from the point of view of the common good. It is about creating suitable conditions for free confession of faith and respect for religious beliefs. Evidently, the oldest sources of financing religious organizations are bequeathing property and making donations. These ways were practiced already by ancient Romans. They were also present in the historical experience of the Middle Ages and have remained so throughout modern times until today. This popular manner of self-financing of Churches is confronted with solutions applied in the United States and in Poland in contemporary times. Hence, the reflexion appears that the tax policy of a state can affect the height of taxes on religious purposes, and thus on practicing religious freedom. In this historical and legal-comparative context, the following were analyzed: first of all, the Polish tax on bequests and donations, the system of tax deductions and donations made by believers, such as demises sensu largo.

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