Video - italy debt plan sparks controversy as vatican exempt from property taxes
Italy's newly adopted austerity package aimed at saving the country from an acute debt crisis has sparked fresh controversy after exempting the Vatican from paying property taxes, Press TV reports.
Italian Prime Minster, Mario Monti's austerity package reintroduces a property tax, also known as ICI, which allows the government to raise over 10 billion euros, about two thirds of the entire value of the package.
However the Italian Catholic Church is exempted from paying the property tax. Vatican properties account for over 20 per cent of the real estate market in Italy: about 50,000 estates, 9,000 schools and 5,000 private hospitals and medical centers.
The tax exemption law states in ambiguous terms that properties with "non-exclusive commercial" purposes should be exempt from taxation.
Watch the full report on TheMoveChannel.tv: