The EU, dealing with Italian insolvency, may condemn the fiscal perks the Berlusconi administration gave to the Catholic Church. Prime Minister Mario Monti has written to the Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, saying that the Vatican will resume property tax, or Ici, payments.European Union Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, told the Vatican and Italy that the Pope has to pay taxes! The Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti says the Vatican will resume property tax, or Ici, payments.
The Italian Radicals party introduced legislation last August to repeal the exemption. This is a victory for public pressure,” said Mario Staderini, the leader of the Italian Radicals party. “We’ve managed to break down – a little bit – the wall protecting the Church.”
The Vatican avoids Ici tax on about 100,000 properties, classed as non-commercial, including 8,779 schools, 26,300 ecclesiastical structures and 4,714 hospitals and clinics. Estimates of its annual saving from avoiding the levy range widely from €600m to €2.2bn. The Church, however, says the tax exemption is worth only €100m a year. Neither is it clear from Mr Monti’s comments how much Ici tax the Church will now have to pay.