ITALY, May 28, 2014 (Lettera 43, summarized from the original Italian): The 8xmille (literally, “eight per thousand”) initiative in Italy is a mechanism by which the taxpayer directs a small percentage of their income tax (0.8%) to 11 recognized religious denominations or the state. There are check-off boxes at the bottom of the tax form to allow the taxpayer to designate their preferred recipient. Of the funds raised by this initiative in in 2011, 87%, US$1.4 billion. The Italian government itself gets a major part of what remains for humanitarian work. The other ten recognized groups (which includes the Italian Hindu Union), are eligible to receive a portion of the remaining 8Xmille funds. This is the first year Buddhists and Hindus are among the recipient and it is not yet known how much each will receive.
For more information on this unusual system, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_per_thousand