VATICAN CITY
The Guardian

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome

Wednesday 10 June 2015

The Vatican bank will automatically report information about American holders of its accounts to US tax authorities under an agreement signed on Wednesday that the American ambassador to the Holy See said was a “very significant step” to combating tax evasion.

The agreement – the first inter-governmental deal between the Vatican and the US – was hailed as a “type of stamp of approval” of the Vatican bank’s efforts to be more transparent, said the US ambassador, Kenneth Hackett.

The bank, which is formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, has been dogged for years by accusations that it has helped launder money for rich Italians, among others, who were seeking to evade taxes and carry out other illicit activity. It began a clean-up process at the end of Pope Benedict’s tenure, following intense pressure…