Eight religious minority groups in Georgia have lodged a complaint to the Constitutional Court arguing that legislative clauses giving broad tax exemptions to only the Georgian Orthodox Church are discriminatory.
The Georgian constitution says the state “shall recognize the special role” of the Georgian Orthodox Church. A consequent constitutional agreement, signed in 2002, gives the Georgian Orthodox Church significant privileges including tax exemptions.
Unlike other religious groups, the Orthodox Church is exempted from profit tax on the sale of religious products, value added taxes on the provision or importation of religious products, and activities related to the construction, restoration, and painting of religious buildings.
The applicants argue that the provisions of the tax code violate article 14 of the constitution, which provides for equality before the law regardless of religion.
The Public Defender’s Office has raised the issue repeatedly in reports to parliament, calling for the “eradication” of discriminatory tax legislation clauses.
Among the applicants, challenging the legislative clauses in the Constitutional Court, are: Georgian Muslims Union; the Roman Catholic Church in Georgia; the Evangelical Baptist Church; Pentecostal Church of Georgia; Seventh-day Adventists; Word of Life Evangelical Church; Holy Trinity Protestant Church, and Church of Christ.
Free University of Tbilisi and Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI), Tbilisi-based religious freedom monitoring group, are providing legal representation for the applicants at the Constitutional Court.
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