Zuppi criticizes Italian state’s ‘unilateral’ tax change
The Italian bishops' conference president accused the Meloni government of 'creating a disparity that harms the Catholic Church.'
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi criticized the Italian government Tuesday for making a “unilateral” change to a tax system that helps fund the Catholic Church in Italy.
In a June 3 speech, the president of the Italian bishops’ conference said he was disappointed by the government’s decision to alter the “Eight per thousand” system, established following a 1984 agreement between the Italian state and Holy See, which amended the 1929 Lateran Treaty.
Zuppi said: “I express disappointment at the government’s choice to unilaterally modify the purposes and methods of attribution of the ‘Eight per thousand’ pertaining to the state.”
“It is a choice that goes against the contractual logic of the agreement, creating a disparity that harms both the Catholic Church and the other religious confessions that have signed agreements with the state.”
When Italian citizens fill in annual tax forms, they can opt to give 0.8% (eight per thousand, or otto per mille in Italian) of their income tax to either a registered religious organization or the state, for social and humanitarian programs.
Until recently, when citizens ticked the state option, they could direct their contributions to one of five areas: world hunger, natural disasters, school buildings, assistance to refugees, or cultural heritage.
In 2023, the Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, introduced a sixth area: the treatment of drug addiction and other dependencies.
Zuppi underlined that he objected to the change because it was introduced without agreement between the parties that receive “Eight per thousand” funds.
The Catholic Church is only one of 13 religious organizations that receive contributions through the system, alongside groups including the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and the Italian Buddhist Union.
But the Catholic Church is by far the largest recipient of “Eight per thousand” money, which it uses to pay clergy salaries, maintain churches, and support charitable projects.
In 2024, the Catholic Church received 70% of the “Eight per thousand” funds for 2024, while the state gained almost 26%.
According to the Italian bishops’ conference, the Church received more than 910 million euros (roughly $1 billion), allocating 389 million euros to supporting clergy, 246 million euros for worship and pastoral needs, and 275 million for charitable works.
Last year marked the first time that the contribution to the Church fell below 1 billion euros, raising the possibility that the increase in state options was reducing contributions to the Church.
The Italian Church’s charitable works include projects supporting people addicted to drugs and substances. Bishops may be concerned that taxpayers wanting to support drug rehabilitation programs will choose the state option, rather than allocating their money to the Church, creating competition between Catholic and state projects.
Speaking at a national conference in Bologna marking 40 years of the current system of financial support for clergy, Zuppi said he hoped the Church’s objections would be addressed.
“We remain, however — and not only because it is the Jubilee of Hope, but we are convinced of it — confident in the settlement of the dispute,” he said.
“But I reiterate the disappointment at the government’s choice to modify unilaterally the purposes and methods of attribution.”
“We remain confident, truly confident, in the settlement of the dispute, in compliance with the specific purposes for which the ‘Eight per thousand’ mechanism was established, and which cannot be modified, except by mutual agreement.”
Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna, noted that the Church’s critics accused it of being excessively interested in money.
“We are not interested in money, we are interested in the poor,” he commented.
Responding to Zuppi’s criticism, the Italian government said that the main change, allowing the choice of five options, was introduced by a previous administration led by Giuseppe Conte, the president of the Five Star Movement political party.
It said that the current Meloni administration “simply inserted a sixth purpose in order to be able to support drug addiction recovery communities and other pathological addictions.”
But opposition parties seized on the cardinal’s remarks to criticize the government led by Meloni, president of the Brothers of Italy party.
Matteo Renzi, leader of the Italia Viva party, wrote on social media June 3 that the government was displaying arrogance in its “choice to go against” the Italian bishops’ conference and Catholic Church.
“Taking away from the Catholic Church what it is entitled to by virtue of the concordat and doing so because perhaps one does not agree with the [bishops’ conference] position on migrants is yet another headstrong move by the Meloni-Mantovano duo,” he wrote, referring to Alfredo Mantovano, Secretary of the Council of Ministers, who assists the prime minister.
“Solidarity with Cardinal Zuppi and all the Italian bishops,” Renzi added.
I think all these Church taxes, even if voluntary, are wrong, because it allows the bishops to do whatever THEY think is important and they are less reliant on the Catholics in the pews and, like the German bishops, completely ignore any laity that do not agree with them. I give very little or nothing to any diocesan-wide appeals, because I do not trust them. Instead I give it to either the parish, Catholic organizations that I trust who will use my money wisely, like certain religious orders or, for example, to the Aid to the Church in Need, or specific projects, like when a missionary priest or sister comes to my parish. If forced to give 0.8 percent of my income to liberal Cardinal Zuppi, linked with the harmful and elitist Community of St. Egidio, vs. Prime Minister Meloni for a specific cause I like, or to liberal Cardinals Cupich and McElroy vs. President Trump for a specific cause, I would think and pray for a long while before deciding who is less likely to waste my money.
"246 million euros for worship and pastoral needs." The Italian Republic is subsidizing the bishops "worship and pastoral needs"? That is a Medieval or Renaissance practice inappropriate to our day. This is legacy of when governments were nominally officially Catholic. For the bishops to go begging to a secular state for funds to keep churches open is appalling. I agree church taxes are wrong. However I note that in the U.S. although we do not pay a church tax, we have recently learned how dependent the bishops are on the government for their revenues (thanks to DOGE). So the European system is at least more transparent.