MADRID The Spanish government said Friday that it would no longer offer a direct subsidy to the Catholic Church, adding to a deepening divide between religious conservatives and the governing Socialist Party. Details of the move were outlined Friday by María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the deputy prime minister.
The church would still receive government funding, because taxpayers would still be allowed to direct a percentage of their taxes each year to the church. But the government would no longer add to the amount allotted by taxpayers to guarantee a minimum level of state financing for the church.
In exchange for the elimination of the direct subsidy, the government said it would increase the maximum percentage that taxpayers can contribute from 0.52 percent to 0.7 percent.
The proposal also calls for eliminating the church's exemption from the value-added tax, a move requested by the European Union.
The Spanish government has funded the Catholic Church under technically temporary agreements since the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975.
The church receives about €135 million, or $170 million, a year from the government. The direct subsidy that is to be eliminated accounts for about €30 million. Spain's Conference of Catholic Bishops would not comment on the announcement.