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

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

[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.