Press
Clubs in the East fear for their non-profit status. Initiatives that are committed to preserving democracy are particularly affected. The AfD is to blame.
Berlin – Over 100 associations and foundations have written to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) because they believe their work against right-wing extremism is being threatened. “We are all being hindered in our commitment by the non-profit law. It is endangering our work,” says the letter, which the media are quoting.
Urgent letter to Scholz: Clubs raise alarm
In Germany, non-profit status is essentially determined by tax law. It states that corporations are considered non-profit if they are dedicated to the “selfless promotion of the general public in material, intellectual or moral areas”. Simply put: associations in particular must put themselves at the service of the population through their work and create something good for the people of Germany without pursuing their own interests.
In 2019, the Federal Finance Court in the case of the association “Attac”, that politically motivated activities cannot be considered charitable. They would influence people. This also includes demonstrations organized by charitable organizations. Organizations place a high value on being recognized as charitable because it brings with it tax benefits and opportunities for funding. They can also issue donation receipts, which is an important factor for many donors.
Debate on non-profit status: Associations raise the alarm – commitment to democracy could decrease significantly
The signatories of the letter to Scholz criticize the fact that they lose their non-profit status through political engagement. “We receive letters from the tax office questioning our non-profit status because we have organized demonstrations,” the organizations write, according to a report by Mirrors. Financial authorities threatened them with losing their non-profit status because their “commitment to fundamental rights was criticized as one-sided.” At the same time, the signatories of the AffD are accused of trying to use the current legal situation to hinder the democratic work of the associations. They assume that the party would report them to the tax authorities.
“We are being told that we will suffer the same fate as Attac,” the organizations wrote to the Chancellor. They are afraid. Because without non-profit status, the continued existence of the organizations is at risk. “That is why many of us think twice about every commitment – about every action, every demonstration, every open letter,” they stress. This means that “more and more commitments are being madet for our democracyren”.
Tax offices withdraw non-profit status: Prominent blog also affected
The current letter to Scholz is not without reason. The traffic light government actually announced in its coalition agreement that it would revise the relevant laws. The government has not yet kept this promise, so the situation is getting worse. Changes could have been made with the 2024 Annual Tax Act – but this did not happen. “We are dismayed that the current draft of the 2024 Annual Tax Act does not contain a word about the promises made by the SPD, FDP and Alliance 90/The Greens,” the associations write.
A prominent example of the withdrawal of non-profit status is the online portal People’s Petter. The responsible tax office revoked the blog’s non-profit status just over a month ago. Since 2015, the blog has been publishing texts on current democratic events, mostly with deliberately sensationalist titles. Core topics are right-wing populism, online hate and conspiracy myths. The platform has been considered a non-profit since 2019. After the responsible tax office revoked its non-profit status retroactively to 2021, the platform now has to pay five-figure taxes.
“Why? We don’t know exactly yet,” writes the platform’s editor-in-chief, Thomas Laschyk, in a blog post. “Among other things, our statutes, which have been unchanged since the beginning, are said to no longer meet the requirements. Incidentally, this was not a problem when we last asked in September 2023.” But that is not the end for Laschyk: “We will of course continue to communicate with the authorities to see whether they have just made a mistake here and whether we can clear up any misunderstandings. But as of now, we have problems.”
The “Non-Profit Journalists” forum, together with organizations such as Correctiv, Katapult and Netzpolitik, has launched a petition to call on the government to comply with its coalition agreement. It is not yet clear how Olaf Scholz and the traffic light governments will respond to the demands. (ske)
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