Italy's Catholic Church stripped of tax exemption

Vatican

wikipedia-Wolfgang Stuc...

The Italian Catholic Church is stripped of a historic tax exemption. 

Until the end of 2012, the Church only had to pay property tax on its commercial enterprises. It was exempt from the duty to pay tax if at least some of the activities carried out on the property were non-commercial, for example a chapel in a hotel. 

The new law was passed in October 2012, when the country's government upheld a February decree that put an end to the Church's tax privileges amid rising calls for the Vatican to take part in debt crisis sacrifices.

In 2010, the European Commission opened an inquiry into the Church's exemption and investigated whether it could be classed as illegal state aid.

The extra revenue from the exempt properties is estimated to add up to over €25.5 million a year in Rome alone.