Will your holiness escape from the US tax? The question is not preceded because it is the first time that a Pope has had American nationality (he also has Peruvian nationality).
The American tax system is special, since it is one of the only ones that also impose on its citizens installed abroad, since a treaty adopted in 2010 by Washington, which is called Fatca.
“There is no exception for foreign governments managers, and the Pope would not be the first foreign leader taken in fiscal networks,” explains Brandon Mitchener, director of fiscal equity for Americans abroad (fiscal justice for US from abroad) in Wall Street Journal.
The former British prime minister, Boris Johnson, had paid the price in 2015. The IRS (American Taxman) was asking for taxes for the sale of his home in London. The political leader had decided to give up his American nationality, the only way to escape the tax administration.
An “unlikely” but paperwork
But when will Pope Leo XIV be? According to experts interviewed by the Washington Post, this is a complex case. The sovereign pontiff certainly does not receive a salary per se in exchange for his functions, but benefits from many advantages in kind.
In fact, their current costs are covered, and in theory, it could be forced to evaluate its value. In addition, the Pope can receive income from other sources, such as the copyright of the books.
But in reality, according to Brandon Mitchener, ultimately, the Pope should not have to pay taxes.
“But the absence of formal exemption, even for the Pope, underlines the absurdity of a fiscal system that often works in autopilot, without any nuance,” he added, asking to reform the fiscal system of the American residents abroad.
Accounts from the Vatican audited by Taxman?
Especially because the situation could be even more incongruous. Some commentators suggest that Leon XIV, due to their American nationality, could be forced to declare all the Vatican bank accounts to the US tax, the Vatican Bank is under the direct authority of the Pope.
“Even if these accounts are institutional and non -personal, the Fatca law does not always clearly distinguish between private assets and those linked to official functions, says Brandon Mitchener. This raises the possibility that the Holy See is subject to US financial monitoring simply because the Pope is American.”
Here again his immunity as head of state could protect him from him, but does not exist in the Treaty of Fatca, ratified in 2015 by the Vatican, of formal exemption in the matter. Therefore, a zeal of the IRS could lead to US fiscal controllers to audit Vatican’s accounts for the simple fact that the Pope is American.
Source: BFM TV
