die Steuer, plural die Steuern - tax(es)

das Einkommen - income

der/die Steuerberater(in) - tax consultant

die Steuererklärung - tax return (form)

Tax rates in the German-speaking world, and elsewhere in Western Europe, are higher than in the US. Nevertheless, organized opposition to taxation appears to be less strong than in the US, perhaps because of the distinctly higher level of social services financed by taxation in Europe, and in the German-speaking world an intense expectation of valued received for value paid - not just in social services for taxation, but in commercial transactions as well. The key date in Germany - when income tax returns are due - is 31 May, where in the US it is 15 April.

To find out more, and even to make a rough comparison between actual taxes for various levels of income, use the search words "Einkommensteuer" (income tax) and "Steuerrechner" (tax calculator). Here are some sites:

Wikipedia "Einkommensteuer (Deutschland)" - general explanation; the section "Geschichte" outlines the history of income taxation; it originated in early tithing to the Church (kirchliche Personalzehnten), and the first German income tax in modern times was instituted in 1811, more than a century before the income tax was legalized (by amendment to the Constitution) in the US.

Wikipedia "Einkommensteuertarif" - taxation chart with comparisons among many countries

In Germany, as in many countries (but not the US, of course), the government collects a "church tax" (Kirchensteuer), which is then distributed to the various denominations according to various formulae.The church tax varies slightly by provice (Bundesland), between 8%and 9%.

Wikipedia "Kirchensteuer (Deutschland)"

Wikipedia "Church Tax" - content similar to the preceding site

Wikipedia "Kirchensteuer (sonstige Staaten)" - the beginning section, Frankreich und Vereinigte Staaten, points out that France and the US, as a consequence of their revolutions, there is no church tax, in contrast to most other Western countries.

The church tax is usually calculated as a part of the regular paycheck form and its various withholdings. However, a denomination may choose to have the government provide them with income information about the members of that denomination; the denomination then collects the money directly from its members and saves on the collection fees the government would otherwise have taken.

The Wikipedia "Church Tax" article gives an example of income tax combined with church tax: a single person earning 50,000 euros may pay an income-tax of 20%, which equals 10,000 euros, and then an additional tax of 9% on the 10,000 euros (NOT on the income of 50,000 euros).

The non-governmental site "Kirchensteuer.de" attempts to give an impartial presentation about the church tax. The section "FAQ Kirchensteuer" explains that the largest groups of people affected by the church tax in Germany are the members of the two established (official) denominations, Roman Catholic and Protestant (Evangelisch - NOT equivalent to US "evangelical" denominations). Membership is, in a way, by default, since baptism into the denomination, usually done in infancy, makes the the person an official member of the denomination and thus, by parental decision, by default subject to the church tax. Other organized denominations and religions, such as Old Believers and Jews, can also collect (or have collected for them) a church tax. Since Germany now has a sizable Muslim population, there is now much discussion whether that religion / denomination will soon be able to collect a church tax (and also whether it actually would want to).

The FAQ also notes that the organized denominations receive, in addition to the church taxes collected from their members, other monies from the government that comes from taxpayers who are not members, who may not even be religious believers. These funds are used for church building maintenance and staff salaries (about 500 million euros per year), and also salaries for the teachers of religion in the public schools.

The FAQ also explains how a person can become exempt from the church tax by filing a governmental form declaring exit from the denomination (Kirchenaustritt), sometimes with a fee collected for the act. As the site kirchenaustritt.de explains, until the age of 14 a person cannot do this without permission of a parent or guardian; parents and guardians can declare Kirchenaustritt for their children / wards up to the age of 12, but between 12 and 14 the young person must agree to that step. The site includes a questionnaire that can be filled out by people considering Kirchenaustritt; among the reasons it offers for check-off are "I now believe in another God / Goddess or other gods". Since German capitalizes its nouns, the word for "God" (the traditional Judeo-Christian God) and "gods" (others) is not reflected the presence or lack of capitalization, as it is (or, until recently, was) in English.

The site kirchenaustrittsjahr.de, most definitely not impartial in its views, gives more information about Kirchenaustritt.

Given the eternal arguing about taxation in general, and in some places also about the sales tax, it is worth looking at the German situation. The official, technical German term is "Umsatzsteuer", but generally it is referred to as the "Mehrwertsteuer" (value added tax), and on bills / receipts about common consumer transactions (in restaurants, etc.), that word or the abbreviation "Mwst." appears.

The Mehrwertsteuer is a federal (not state-legislated) tax and constitutes the single greatest source of governmental income: 30% of the total. Currently the rate is 19% (16% before 2007), with some reduction for absolute necessities. The monies collected through the Mehrwertsteuer go, in various proportions, to the federal government, the provincial governments, and the local governments. Source: www.mehrwert-steuer-de, especially "Mehrwertsteuer Deutschland". It is widely expected that the Mehrwertsteuer will continue to climb as the German population ages, fewer children are born who will then become taxpayers, and the cost of social services rises.

The site also includes a section about sales tax in the US, from a German perspective: a) It annoys German tourists that they have to deal with many different sales tax rates when they shop in the US. b) Even after paying their US sales tax (in those area where there is a sales tax, which is almost everywhere), the German shoppers must, when they return to Germany, pay on those goods an import tax of 19% and perhaps also a customs duty. This is true also of purchases made through the internet from online shops located in the US.