Catholic Church to start paying some taxes in Spain

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - The Catholic Church in Spain will now pay two taxes it was previously exempt from, the Spanish government and Spanish Episcopal Conference announced Wednesday.

After a year of “intense” negotiations, the Catholic Church agreed to start paying new taxes to the tune of around €16 million ($17.3 million) per year, presidency minister Felix Bolanos told a press conference.

“This agreement means the end of the Catholic Church’s fiscal privileges in terms of taxes. From today, the church will be treated like any other non-profit organization in Spain,” he added.

The tax revenue will be collected by city halls around the country.

In a joint statement with the government, the Spanish Episcopal Conference confirmed that the Vatican has approved the change.

The now-eliminated tax exemptions were agreed upon in 1979 during Spain’s transition to democracy after Francisco Franco’s death. Under his fascist rule, Catholicism was the state religion.

The new taxes are the second agreement that Spain’s progressive government has reached with the church.

Last January, Spain’s Catholic Church also formally admitted that at least 1,000 of its claimed buildings and plots of land were not the genuine properties of the church,

According to recent figures, some 55% of Spaniards identify as Catholic, though most report not practicing their faith.