Petition Repeal Section 2b of the Charities Act 2006, and Make Religious Institutions Pay Tax

The Charities Act 2006 states that the advancement of religion constitutes a charitable act. This means that every church, mosque, synagogue or religious mission in the UK can register as a charity and avoid paying tax.

As the country battles a recession, and given that each of these institutions believes that they have the backing of the one supreme being in the universe behind them, we should be:

1. Taxing them: the Church of England received £450m in donations last year, and manages assets of £4.4bn. They can afford to pay tax, particularly with God on their side.

2. Ensuring that, to maintain charitable status, religious charities spend the majority of their time performing duties in-line with the rest of the Charities Act's description of what constitutes charitable work, and not on the advancement of religion, which is only disputably for the common good, and it could be argued causes major fractions and divisions in communities.