The BBC website reports today (March 2, 2012) that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has announced that the Vatican must pay taxes on non-religious property, from which it previously enjoyed an exemption.
The annual cost could be up to 720 million euros (945 million dollars), according to municipal government bodies.
Italy's Catholic Church has 110,000 properties, worth about 9 billion euros. It includes shopping centers and a range of residential property.
Last December, the government reintroduced a tax paid by anyone who owns land or property in Italy -- which the Church does not pay.
