Since 2007, the Spanish Episcopal Conference has promoted the campaign X so many (For so many), which promotes checking the Church’s box in the annual Income Tax Return, a system through which citizens can allocate part of their taxes to the Church. Specifically, 0.7% of the entire declaration fee.
This form of financing the Church is the result of an agreement reached in 2006 by which the State stopped having a fixed amount allocated to the Catholic Church in its general budgets. In exchange, taxpayers are allowed to select an option to allocate part of their taxes to the institution. Spain thus became the only country in Europe that does not have direct allocation from the State.
According to data from the EEC, for every euro that the Church receives through this voluntary financing system, “a value of 1.38 euros is generated in society.”
In fiscal year 2021, some 8 and a half million taxpayers gave, through their Income Tax Returns, more than 320 million euros to the Catholic Church, which the EEC distributes among the Spanish dioceses.