VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
Joshua J. McElwee | Jun. 10, 2015
VATICAN CITY The U.S. and the Holy See have signed a joint measure to reduce tax evasion by American individuals holding money at the so-called Vatican bank, in what officials said is the first such inter-governmental agreement between the country and the city-state.
Under the new measure, signed Wednesday by U.S. Ambassador Ken Hackett and Vatican Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See has agreed to automatically report information on Vatican bank accounts held by American citizens.
While neither U.S. nor Holy See officials would identify how many American individuals hold money at the Vatican, the number is assumed to be rather small, perhaps in the dozens.
Hackett, the American ambassador to the Holy See, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday morning that the move was “a type of stamp of approval” of the improvements the once scandal-plagued Vatican financial structure has made in recent years.
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