Nicaragua: Ortega Regime to Begin Taxing Church Tithes and Offerings in Ongoing Crackdown
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – As predicted by Christian rights groups, Nicaragua’s authoritarian government is set to begin taxing tithes and offerings collected by churches in an effort to tighten its control over religious institutions, Christianity Today (CT) reports.
Ruled by communist dictator Daniel Ortega who leads the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional for guerrilla group party, Nicaragua ranks 30 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
The taxation of tithes and offerings is part of a bill introduced by Ortega and unanimously approved on August 20 by the Asamblea Nacional, CT reports. In addition to imposing taxes on tithes and offerings, the Ortega regime will also require religious groups to formally partner with the government if they want to carry out projects. It is estimated tithes will be taxed at up to 30%, CT said.
In a website statement posted earlier this year about the situation facing Christians in Nicaragua, the Open Doors international Christians advocacy organization reports: “Hostility toward Christians in Nicaragua continues to intensify, with those who speak out against President Ortega and his government viewed as destabilizing agents. Christian leaders have been harassed and arrested, Christian properties seized, Christian schools, TV stations, and charities closed, and churches monitored and intimidated.”
“Recent changes to the law have been used to label church leaders as terrorists and coup-plotters, and there are suggestions that the government wants to control church affairs such as tithes and offerings,” Open Doors added.
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