Money short, then endlessly given in tax (5)
I believe the answer is:
tithe
'tax' is the definition.
(historical tax paid to the church)
'money short then endlessly given' is the wordplay.
'money short' becomes 'ti' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'endlessly' means to remove the last letter.
'given' says to put letters next to each other.
'then' with its last letter removed is 'the'.
'ti'+'the'='TITHE'
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tithe that I've seen before include "Former church tax" , "Ancient tax" , "Church payment" , "financial contribution" , "Tax to support the church" .)