독일에서의 종교단체에 대한 과세제도 ― 수익사업을 중심으로 ―

Concepts of religion and a religious organization on Constitution are very broad in Germany. In addition to faith in any divine presence, religion on Constitution includes the view of world in the zone of protection as well. In Germany, religious entities are divided into two entities；one is a religious organization which is a juristic person under the public law as the historical product resulted from a long historical relationship between the church and the government, and the others are any other religious entities under the private law. For the religious organization as a legal entity under the public law, its constitutional status is guaranteed under the article 140 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany(Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) corresponding to the article 137 of the Weimar Constitution. On the other hand, religious entities under the private law is protected under the freedom of association and the freedom of religion. Both the religious entity under public law and the private religious entities, in principle, are treated as nontaxable entities. However different law provisions apply to them as the ground of nontaxation. In case of religious organizations as legal entities under the public law, the German Corporate Tax Law §1①-6 and §4 apply to them, while the Fiscal Code of Germany §52②1-2 and §54 are applicable to religious entities under the private law. The German Corporate Tax Law §1-9 allows a religious entity under the private law to be a personal nontaxable entity under the Corporate Tax Law. These two kinds of entities are liable for taxation on any profits derived from profit businesses which they operate. In this sense, they are partial taxpayers. In taxing on the profit business, the German government observes Competitive Neutrality between entities entitled to tax benefits and private companies with no preferential tax treatments. This Principle of Competitive Neutrality plays an important role in the distinction of the profit business and the managing act and that of the profit business and the essential business. It is meaningful to Korea in that the Principle of Competitive Neutrality is clearly provided in §65-3 of the Fiscal Code of Germany. Furthermore, it is notable that rental income and managing acts like financial income are excluded from the scope of the profit business. In fact, financial incomes such as interest income and dividend income should not be subject to taxation since they are fruits from the management of a property and are not against Competitive Neutrality as the German tax regime suggests.