“No other major religion in France was subjected to this tax,” notes Bruno Faure, a representative of Jehovah’s Witnesses in France. “The Court saw that this was not a legitimate effort to collect revenue, but rather an attempt to use taxation as a means of restricting the worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
The Court’s ruling annuls the tax that the government of France sought to impose on the Witnesses. During the next few weeks, representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the French government will work to finalize the details of implementing the Court’s decision.
“Our desire is to peacefully worship,” states Philip Brumley, general counsel for Jehovah’s Witnesses at their world headquarters in New York. “And the Court has said that we have this right, just like any other internationally recognized religion.”
