Well that’s one good thing.
The Vatican, which previously enjoyed an exemption, must now pay taxes on its commercial properties, the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, has announced.
Like anyone else. Why did it enjoy an exemption before?
The state has been exempt from paying property taxes since 2005, one of several fiscal perks enjoyed by the Catholic Church and introduced by the Berlusconi administration.
Ah! Of course. One autocrat doing a favor for another. Naturally.
The Vatican owns 110,000 properties, including shopping centres and residences, which are collectively worth about $12 billion, the Business Insider said.
As Italy tightened its belt to deal with the financial crisis, more than 130,000 people signed an online petition calling for the Church’s tax-exempt status to be revoked, it said.
”This is a victory for public pressure,” Mario Staderini, the leader of the Italian Radicals party, told The Independent.
”We’ve managed to break down – a little bit – the wall protecting the Church.”
Rome wasn’t built in a day.