Nearly two hundred religious leaders city-wide don’t pay council tax on the basis of their principle occupation being ‘prayer’, new data shows.
Croydon specifically sees the highest concentration of people on a “religious community” exemption by a significant margin, with 55 people in the borough not paying council tax.
This is double the closest following boroughs, with Ealing and Lambeth both having 27 people on this exemption.
Father Chad Boulton, from Ampleforth Abbey in York, said: “People are always quite surprised to find monks, I think people think we’re part of history books.
“1500 years ago, St. Benedict said monks must live by the work of their hands, so monks run schools, run hospitals, run farms, run tourist attractions – we provide an oasis.”
The exemption applies to members of a religious community whose principal occupation consists of: prayer, contemplation, education, or, ‘the relief of suffering’.
The services religious leaders provide to their community, such as emotional support and advice to those seeking wisdom, would qualify as the ‘the relief of suffering’.
On top of this they must not have “any capital” of their own or receive income, and must be “dependent upon the community for their material needs” to qualify – as a result, most who qualify are monks based in London.
The highest three boroughs all contain major catholic monasteries, with Croydon containing both a Catholic nunnery and a Catholic monastery – these are the ‘Monastery of Our Lady of Fidelity’ and ‘Sacred Heart Church’ respectively.
Despite London containing monasteries and monks from many religions, such as a Buddhist monastery in Chiswick, exemption requests came almost exclusively from Christian denominations.
Notable examples and exceptions include a single member of the Pentecostal denomination in Redbridge, an evangelical in Hounslow, and a single Ramgarhia Sikh in Greenwich.
Data has been gathered through FOI requests to London borough councils, however in some cases councils refused to provide information either on the basis that it would take too long to gather or is considered private information.
However, in others, the information returned pertained to the amount of properties receiving an exemption on the basis of being a property “occupied by members of religious communities” – these have been outlined in red on the infographic pictured.
In this metric, Hammersmith & Fulham and Enfield both have the most exempt properties, totalling 10 properties each exempt from council tax.
These building specific exemptions have been around since 1998, with the council tax exemption for members of religious communities existing since council tax was intitially introduced in 1993.
Father Chad said: “I think there’s an element of what we do that some people will never quite understand, particularly what the role of prayer is.
“We do work hard and it’s not a cushy life – as a monk, you don’t have a bank account.
“Our motto is peace among thorns, and so amidst all the thorns of life, is it possible to find peace?
“I think that’s something we offer.”
The SW Londoner has reached out to Croydon Council for comment.
Featured image credit: Unsplash
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