The Committee for the Promulgation of Virtuous Churches proposes the following:

That anyone be entitled by the Queen's law to divert any portion of the tax they owe from any or all of the lords to whom they would normally owe such tax, instead giving it as a tithe to an approved church of their choice.

Our proposed list of gods Whose churches are anticipated to be suitable for these donations follow (note that this is a subset of the recommended list of permitted churches, consisting of those who are of particularly unimpeachable social value and institutional establishment): Erastil, Iomedae, Shelyn, Sarenrae, Pharasma, Irori.  We recommend adding Abadar to the list if and only if the church of Abadar where it operates in Cheliax takes on activities reasonably understood as charitable, such as taking in orphans, but it is our understanding that it does not presently do this within Cheliax's borders. We recommending adding more obscure gods and demigods to the extent that they exhibit a willingness to empower clerics within Cheliax who stand willing to perform socially valuable work.

We further propose that the churches keep records of any donations made under this provision, and stand ready to if challenged testify to the care and accuracy with which they make and maintain those records, and that challenges of assertions that tax has been converted to tithe must be made to the church's officials and not to the individual households of Cheliax whose tax a collector mean to collect, so as to avoid the temptation to double-collect or intimidate the common folk.  We recommend that the Crown be entitled to strike a church, in whole or by parish, from the list of those approved for this purpose, if it should turn out that they are unable to keep the records honestly and completely.

This proposal would serve the following purposes:

To encourage the establishment and promulgation of the benign churches in Cheliax which has had its spiritual life first turned over almost wholly to Hell and then been deprived of even those services Hell was competent to provide;

To preferentially support and empower trustworthy, divinely-backed organizations capable of wielding magic in the defense of their regions and teaching the suited to join their ranks, most especially in those areas where the nobility fail to make the case to their people that they are providing essential defensive services sufficient to justify their expenses, with a particular view toward those of the nobility who have yet to pass any evaluation by their lieges or the Crown;

To enable even the poorest, who have little to no discretionary funds with which to buy Goodness, access to that longstanding habit which so often buys the wealthy out of damnation, as while paying one's taxes to one's lord is not a noted Good activity making a choice to grant money to a specific beneficent church in appreciation for that Good which it does is;

To, if the tax rate is set punishingly high in some area, allow the common folk to make this choice unprofitable for those who set the rate, instead enriching churches which, being chosen for their value to their parishes in the first place, might then return much of the wealth to the people thus impoverished, or hold it for safekeeping against disaster.

This bill does not empower churches to proactively collect tithes.  This bill does not establish any churches that do not yet have any empowered representatives ready and willing to collect and use funds for their divine missions.  This bill can remain intact in its overall intention if the list of approved churches is narrowed by amendment, or if the portion of tax which may be reallocated to tithing is limited by the Crown, but should not be passed in a form which would grant control of the tithing process to the nobility nor which would exclude the churches listed.

The Committee for the Promulgation of Virtuous Churches proposes the following:

That anyone be entitled by the Queen's law to divert any portion of the tax they owe from any or all of the lords to whom they would normally owe such tax, instead giving it as a tithe to an approved church of their choice.

Our proposed list of gods Whose churches are anticipated to be suitable for these donations follow (note that this is a subset of the recommended list of permitted churches, consisting of those who are of particularly unimpeachable social value and institutional establishment): Erastil, Iomedae, Shelyn, Sarenrae, Pharasma, Irori.  We recommend adding Abadar to the list if and only if the church of Abadar where it operates in Cheliax takes on activities reasonably understood as charitable, such as taking in orphans, but it is our understanding that it does not presently do this within Cheliax's borders. We recommending adding more obscure gods and demigods to the extent that they exhibit a willingness to empower clerics within Cheliax who stand willing to perform socially valuable work.

We further propose that the churches keep records of any donations made under this provision, and stand ready to if challenged testify to the care and accuracy with which they make and maintain those records, and that challenges of assertions that tax has been converted to tithe must be made to the church's officials and not to the individual households of Cheliax whose tax a collector mean to collect, so as to avoid the temptation to double-collect or intimidate the common folk.  We recommend that the Crown be entitled to strike a church, in whole or by parish, from the list of those approved for this purpose, if it should turn out that they are unable to keep the records honestly and completely.

This proposal would serve the following purposes:

To encourage the establishment and promulgation of the benign churches in Cheliax which has had its spiritual life first turned over almost wholly to Hell and then been deprived of even those services Hell was competent to provide;

To preferentially support and empower trustworthy, divinely-backed organizations capable of wielding magic in the defense of their regions and teaching the suited to join their ranks, most especially in those areas where the nobility fail to make the case to their people that they are providing essential defensive services sufficient to justify their expenses, with a particular view toward those of the nobility who have yet to pass any evaluation by their lieges or the Crown;

To enable even the poorest, who have little to no discretionary funds with which to buy Goodness, access to that longstanding habit which so often buys the wealthy out of damnation; as while paying one's taxes to one's lord is not a noted Good activity, making a choice to grant money or goods to a specific beneficent church in appreciation for that Good which it does is;

To, if the tax rate is set punishingly high in some area, allow the common folk to make this choice unprofitable for those who set the rate, instead enriching churches which, being chosen for their value to their parishes in the first place, might then return much of the wealth to the people thus impoverished, or hold it for safekeeping against disaster.

This bill does not empower churches to proactively collect tithes.  This bill does not establish any churches that do not yet have any empowered representatives ready and willing to collect and use funds for their divine missions.  This bill can remain intact in its overall intention if the list of approved churches is narrowed by amendment, or if the portion of tax which may be reallocated to tithing is limited by the Crown, but should not be passed in a form which would grant control of the tithing process to the nobility nor which would exclude the churches listed.