Portugal’s churches and associated religious buildings have been hit with a wave of council tax bills for properties that since 1940 have been exempt.
The Church says the IMI bills are flowing in and complains of incorrect tax demands but the government says it has issued no new instructions to Finanças to tax Church properties and claims, rather weakly, that not all Church buildings are exempt as this depends on the use of each building.
Complaints from up and down the country, but especially in the north, are in response to what the Church describes as "avalanche" of notifications to pay IMI.
Previously exempt buildings include churches, priest accommodation, church halls, convents and many squares in front of churches that are church property.
The Government says nothing has changed in the applicable laws but the Tax Authority has not yet come up with an explanation as clearly someone has triggered a new purge on Church property.
The Church, through spokesman Manuel Barbosa, says the situation is one of "abuse and disrespect."
“It has happened in recent years and in recent months. It is not a new situation but right now there is an excess of notifications - an avalanche in various diocese."
The Ministry of Finance points out that the Concordat signed in 1940 exempted the entire Catholic Church, but this was upgraded in 2004, to limit IMI exemption to property used for religious purposes.
The problem may be the classification of property. This is carried out by the Tax Authority and for properties that mix several activities related to religion and education - the former are not taxed; the latter are – the taxman is naturally is assessing use to raise IMI.
Manuel Barbosa said that there may be "one or two” situations where a property is not exempt from IMI, but argues that "almost all" the Church buildings are exempt and have been for decades.
The Tax Authority, showing that the Church is treated as poorly as citizens, says the Church should make a complaint if it is unhappy but that the IMI assessments and bills stay.
These complaints, promises the Tax Authority, will be "reviewed, to ensure that the legislation is being properly applied and, if necessary, correcting the payments made."
The Church says this course of action is bureaucratic and unnecessary, well aware that once the taxman owes anyone money, it can be years before a payment is made.
On the reverse, any complaints about incorrect IMI will not suspend the need to pay the money and argue later. The Church will at least find out first hand how the State treats taxpayers.
