Tithe

===Church collection of religious offerings and taxes===
====England and Wales====
[[File:A carved record of the judgement in a tithe dispute, in a darkened corner of Clodock Church - geograph.org.uk - 1691566.jpg|thumb|Carved record of the judgement in a tithe dispute, in [[Clodock]] Church, Wales]]
The right to receive tithes was granted to the English churches by [[Ethelwulf of Wessex|King Ethelwulf]] in 855. The [[Saladin tithe]] was a royal tax, but assessed using ecclesiastical boundaries, in 1188. The legal validity of the tithe system was affirmed under the [[Statute of Westminster 1285|Statute of Westminster of 1285]]. The [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] led to the transfer of many rights to tithe to secular landowners and [[the Crown]] – and tithes could be extinguished until 1577 under an Act of the 37th year of [[Henry VIII]]'s reign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details/C3252914-details|title=Middlesex: London City without the Walls: St Botolph without Aldgate, parish |work=The National Archives Collection IR 18/5462}}</ref> [[Adam Smith]] criticized the system in ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'' (1776), arguing that a fixed rent would encourage peasants to work far more efficiently.

[[File:Besse, A Collection of Quaker Sufferings, page 254 (PXL 20210504 140241112).jpg|thumb|alt=page 254 of Besse's 'Sufferings'|The first page of chapter 28 of Besse's 'Collection of Sufferings', covering Herefordshire]]
[[File:Besse page 258 cropped (PXL 20210504 140344487~2).jpg|thumb|Paragraph on prosecutions for non-payment of tithes in Herefordshire, 1674 (from page 258 of Besse's 'Sufferings of Quakers')]]

====Dissenters====
In the seventeenth century various dissenting groups objected to paying tithes to Church of England. [[Quakers]] were prominent among these, objecting to 'forced payments for the maintenance of a professional ministry'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braithwaite |first1=William C. |last2=Cadbury |first2=Henry J. |title=The Beginnings of Quakerism |date=1970 |publisher=William Sessions Ltd |location=York, England |page=136 |edition=2nd}}</ref> In 1659 guidance was issued for a national system for recording the fines, [[impropriation]]s and imprisonments for non-payment of tithes as seen in the following extract from a document.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braithwaite |first1=William C. |last2=Cadbury |first2=Henry J. |title=The Beginnings of Quakerism |date=1970 |publisher=William Sessions Ltd |location=York, England |page=315 |edition=2nd}}</ref>
 
{{Blockquote
|text=Clause 9. Sufferings of Friends to be gathered up and recorded, the sufferes to report to a recorder in each meeting who is to report to the next General Meeting for the county for record by a county recorder.
|author=From Register Book of a Monthly Meeting in Hampshire, 1659
}}

These records were eventually collated and published in 1753 by [[Joseph Besse]], documenting widespread persecution throughout the British Isles and further abroad. This only abated in the 1680s, due in no small measure to the efforts of [[William Penn]] who, through [[William Penn (Royal Navy officer)|his father]]'s earlier connections at court, was friendly with [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] and [[James, Duke of York]] and interceded with them in behalf of Quakers in England and on the Continent, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=Richard |last2=Dunn |first2=Mary Maples |title=The Papers of William Penn |date=1982 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0-8122-7852-6 |page=21 |edition=1st}}</ref>

[[#Tithes and tithe law in England before reform|See below]] for a fuller description and history, until the reforms of the 19th century, written by [[Sir William Blackstone]] and edited by other learned lawyers of the period.<ref>.Alan Wharham, "Tithes in Country Life," ''History Today'' (June 1972), Vol. 22 Issue 6, pp 426-433.</ref>

====End of the tithing system====
The system gradually ended with the [[Tithe Commutation Act 1836]], whose long-lasting Tithe Commission replaced them with a commutation payment, land award and/or rentcharges to those paying the commutation payment and took the opportunity to map out (apportion) residual [[chancel repair liability]] where the rectory had been appropriated during the medieval period by a religious house or college. Its records giving a snapshot of land ownership in most parishes, the Tithe Files, are a socio-economic history resource. The rolled-up payment of several years' tithe would be divided between the tithe-owners as at the date of their extinction.<ref name=na>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/tithes/ How to look for records of Tithes –  The History of Tithes] The National Archives</ref>

This commutation reduced problems to the ultimate payers by effectively folding tithes in with rents however, it could cause transitional money supply problems by raising the transaction demand for money. Later the decline of large landowners led [[leasehold estate|tenants]] to become [[freehold (English law)|freeholders]] and again have to pay directly; this also led to renewed objections of principle by non-[[Anglican]]s.<ref>One account of the objections in the 1920s and 1930s appears in the book ''The Tithe War'' by [[Doreen Wallace]] (London: Gollancz, 1934).</ref> It also kept intact a system of chancel repair liability affecting the minority of parishes where the rectory had been lay-appropriated. The precise land affected in such places hinged on the content of documents such as the content of deeds of merger and apportionment maps.<ref name=na/>

=====Tithe redemption{{anchor|Tithe Act 1936|Tithe Act 1951}}=====
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Tithe Act 1936
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to extinguish tithe rentcharge and extraordinary tithe rentcharge, and to make provision with respect to the compensation of the owners thereof and rating authorities and to the liabilities of the owners of land charged therewith in respect of the extinguishment thereof; to reduce the rate at which tithe rentcharge is to be payable pending its extinguishment and to make provision with respect to the recovery of arrears thereof; to make provision for the redemption and extinguishment of corn rents and similar payments; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
| year                  = 1936
| citation              = [[26 Geo. 5. & 1 Edw. 8]]. c. 43
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 31 July 1936
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = {{ubli|[[Tithe Act 1837]]|[[Extraordinary Tithe Redemption Act 1886]]|[[Extraordinary Tithe Act 1897]]}}
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = amended
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5and1Edw8/26/43/contents/enacted
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = Tithe Act 1936
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Tithe Act 1951
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to provide, in lieu of the obligation imposed by the Tithe Act, 1936, to register all annuities charged thereby, for registration in selected districts, to amend and to repeal certain provisions of that Act, and to make further provision with respect to certain matters connected therewith.
| year                  = 1951
| citation              = [[14 & 15 Geo. 6]]. c. 62
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 1 August 1951
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = amended
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/14-15/62/contents/enacted
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = Tithe Act 1951
| collapsed             = yes
}}

Rent charges in lieu of abolished English tithes paid by landowners were converted by a public outlay of money under the '''Tithe Act 1936''' into [[annuity (financial contracts)|annuities]] paid to the state through the Tithe Redemption Commission. Such payments were transferred in 1960 to the Board of [[Inland Revenue]], and those remaining were terminated by the [[Finance Act 1977]].

The '''Tithe Act 1951''' established the compulsory redemption of English tithes by landowners where the annual amounts payable were less than £1, so abolishing the bureaucracy and costs of collecting small sums of money.

====Greece====
There has never been a separate church tax or mandatory tithe on Greek citizens. The state pays the salaries of the clergy of the established [[Church of Greece]], in return for use of real estate, mainly forestry, owned by the church. The remainder of church income comes from voluntary, tax-deductible donations from the faithful. These are handled by each [[diocese]] independently.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

====Ireland====
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2012}}
From the [[English Reformation]] in the 16th century, most Irish people chose to remain [[Roman Catholic]] and had by now to pay tithes valued at about 10 per cent of an area's agricultural produce, to maintain and fund the established state church, the [[Anglican]] [[Church of Ireland]], to which only a small minority of the population converted. [[Presbyterian Church in Ireland|Irish Presbyterians]] and other minorities like the [[Quakers]] and [[Jews]] were in the same situation.

The collection of tithes was resisted in the period 1831–36, known as the [[Tithe War]]. Thereafter, tithes were reduced and added to rents with the passing of the [[Tithe Commutation Act 1838|Tithe Commutation Act]] in 1836. With the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the [[Irish Church Act 1869]], tithes were abolished.

====United States====
While the federal government has never collected a church tax or mandatory tithe on its citizens, states <!---such as Massachusetts, specifically--> collected a tithe into the early 19th century. The United States and its governmental subdivisions also exempt most churches from payment of income tax (under Section [[501(c)(3)]] of the [[Internal Revenue Code]] and similar state statutes, which also allows donors to claim the donations as an income tax [[itemized deduction]]). Also, churches may be permitted exemption from other state and local taxes such as sales and property taxes, either in whole or in part. Clergy, such as ministers and members of religious orders (who have taken a vow of poverty) may be exempt from federal self-employment tax on income from ministerial services. Income from non-ministerial services are taxable and churches are required to withhold Federal and state income tax from this non-exempt income. They are also required to withhold employee's share of [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] taxes under [[Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax|FICA]], and pay the employer's share for the non-exempt income.<ref name="IRS517">

Publication 517, ''[https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p517.pdf Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers (2015)]'', Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury. ''Retrieved 23 September 2016''</ref>

====Spain and Latin America====
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2012}}
[[File:Casa reina mora.jpg|thumb|Casa de los Diezmos, [[Canillas de Aceituno]], Málaga, Spain]]
{{Main|Diezmo}}
Both the tithe (''diezmo''), a levy of 10 per cent on all agricultural production, and "first fruits" (''primicias''), an additional harvest levy, were collected in Spain throughout the medieval and early modern periods for the support of local [[Catholic]] parishes.

The tithe crossed the Atlantic with the [[Spanish Empire]]; however, the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] who made up the vast majority of the population in colonial [[Spanish America]] were exempted from paying tithes on native crops such as corn and potatoes that they raised for their own subsistence. After some debate, Indians in colonial Spanish America were forced to pay tithes on their production of European agricultural products, including wheat, silk, cows, pigs, and sheep.

The tithe was abolished in several [[Latin America]]n countries, including Mexico, soon after independence from Spain (which started in 1810). The tithe was abolished in Argentina in 1826, and in Spain itself in 1841.