Italy and the Vatican on
Wednesday signed an agreement to exchange financial information
as part of efforts to fight tax evasion and money laundering.
The Vatican said the deal meant Italy was "the first
country with which the Holy See has signed an agreement that
regulates information exchange".
The deal will make it possible for Vatican and Italian
authorities to swap details of taxable sums since January 1,
2009.
"Italy and the Holy See are even closer with the signing
of this convention on tax affairs," Paul Richard Gallagher, the
Holy See's secretary for relations with states, told Vatican
daily L'Osservatore Romano.
"More stable institutional and legal bonds are being added
to the historic links".
Gallagher added that the agreement would apply to Vatican
employees and retired Holy See staff living in Italy, as well as
other people and institutions, such as religious orders, holding
money in the Vatican bank, the Institute for the Works of
Religion (IOR).
"The agreement is an important step forward that continues
the road of tax transparency and will reinforce the mechanism of
voluntary disclosure," said Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo
Padoan.
The deal is latest step in the Vatican's drive to clean up
its act on financial transparency, after a series of scandals
hit the IOR, since Pope Francis was elected to the helm of the
Catholic Church two years ago.
The problem of misuse of IOR accounts has been addressed
to some degree, with the the closure of accounts of people who
are not clergy or Holy See employees.
As of July, the Vatican bank had blocked the accounts of
2,000 clients and ended some 3,000 "customer relationships".
In recent months, Italy has signed tax treaties with
Switzerland, Monaco and Liechtenstein to increase transparency
and break down barriers created for tax collectors by bank
secrecy regulations.
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