Lawmakers from Germany's grand coalition government said on Wednesday that they were considering introducing a "mosque tax" for German Muslims, similar to the church taxes that German Christians pay.
In Germany, church taxes are collected from practicing Catholics and Protestants in order to fund church activities.
They are collected by the state and then transferred to religious authorities.
For example, there has been growing concern about the influence of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), an arm of the Turkish government based in Germany.
A lawmaker from Germany's other ruling party, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), agreed that a mosque tax could help Islam in Germany become more independent.
Several European countries, including Austria, Sweden, and Italy, also use church taxes to fund Catholic and Protestant institutions.
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