I was surprised to learn that in Germany (and I think in Italy too) 8% of your income tax goes to whichever church you have declared yourself to be a member of, and if you don't pay up the Catholic church will deny you certain sacraments. I think it was agreed when the state confiscated some church lands. The church has lost large numbers of members because of the child sex abuse scandal so I suppose it is desperate to hold on to its 'subs'. It is hard to imagine the British accepting a governmental decree on how much they should contribute to their churches.
Pre Warning re Tonight’s Eastenders