Pope set to declare income tax evasion 'socially unjust'(budget crisis in Italy)

The Times of London ^ | 08/11/2007 | Richard Owen

[SirLinksalot]

Pope Benedict XVI is working on a doctrinal pronouncement that will condemn tax evasion as “socially unjust”, according to Vatican sources.

In his second encyclical – the most authoritative statement a pope can issue – the pontiff will denounce the use of “tax havens” and offshore bank accounts by wealthy individuals, since this reduces tax revenues for the benefit of society as a whole.

It will focus on humanity’s social and economic problems in an era of globalisation. Pope Benedict intends to argue for a world trade and economic system “regulated in such a way as to avoid further injustice and discrimination”, Ignazio Ingrao, a Vatican watcher, said yesterday.

The encyclical, drafted during his recent holiday in the mountains of northern Italy, takes its cue from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples), issued 40 years ago. In it the pontiff focused on “those peoples who are striving to escape from hunger, misery, endemic diseases and ignorance and are looking for a wider share in the benefits of civilisation”. He called on the West to promote an equitable world economic system based on social justice rather than profit.

This week the Italian centre-left Government of Romano Prodi began a concerted crackdown on tax evaders, saying that it would target individuals with second homes and other signs of “conspicuous wealth”. If the black economy is included, unpaid taxes amount to 27 per cent of Italy’s gross domestic product.

Mr Prodi, a devout Catholic, urged church leaders to speak out on tax evasion, telling the Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana that a third of Italians heavily evaded taxes, which were needed to plug Italy’s huge budget deficit. “Why, when I go to Mass, is this issue almost never touched upon in homilies?” Mr Prodi asked, adding: “If memory serves, St Paul exhorted the faithful to obey authority.”

As part of its crackdown the Government said that it was seeking taxes on undeclared earnings of €60 million (£40 million) by Valentino Rossi, the world motorcycling champion.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Considering that the Church is the largest private provider of services to the poor they’d be due a refund if they itemized.

[Kellis91789]

Well ... the Pope lives in a palace, decorated with thousands of priceless works of art, has servants at his beck and call 24/7, eats only the finest foods off of gold plates, has fleets of cars and planes, and has one heck of a home entertainment center. He’ll get the use of that lifestyle for as long as he lives.

By comparison, the POTUS lives in austerity.

[Tao Yin]

He gets to sit in the throne of Peter! For God's sake, does reality even matter?

[razorback-bert]

I personally don't think that a 32,000 page tax code is the right way to go.
Can I hear an Amen!

Amen!

[Red Badger]

The more important one is HOW to structure our tax system to ensure maximum fairness.

THAT is the liberal/socialist/communist trap........Everyone should pay 10-15% of their earnings/wages/salary/profits across the board. Whether it's done as a paycheck deduction or end of month/quarter/year doesn't really matter, or the Fair Tax Plan as a sales tax........

[3niner]

Given that he is the head of his own country, and probably has little personal salary, he probably pays very little.

He pays nothing. That is my point. He skates by with the usual communist claim that he owns nothing. In effect, however, he owns the vast wealth of the Catholic Church, and draws upon whatever portion (of that billions of dollars of wealth) he wants, whenever he wants.

I am not saying that this should change, but for him to castigate others in this regard, is massive hypocrisy.

Vatican City is only "his own country", because Italy has decided to allow this technicality for the Catholic Church. That is the business of Italy and the Catholic Church, but we all know that Vatican City is in Rome, and Rome is in Italy.