The Exemption of the IBI (local tax) for the Catholic Church. Constitutional Approach and Legal Realm

Abstract

During the annual academic conference of the Canon Law School of the Comillas Pontifical University, and in view of recurring polemic discussion in the Spanish media concerning the IBI (local tax) exemption of the Catholic Church, the author poses a double question: if the exemption of the IBI is in accordance with the Spanish Constitution, and if within the realm of constitutionality, it is coherent with the current Spanish regulatory framework of religious freedom, according to the principles of equality, laicity, non-confessionalism or religious neutrality and cooperation; and, in the second place, if the aforesaid exemption comes to terms with the principles that regulate the Spanish non-profit sector framework. In order to answer these questions, the author analyzes the constitutional regulations regarding religious freedom and the complementary regulations on the exemption for the Catholic Church (Catholic Church-Spanish State Agreements, Organic Law 7, 5 July 1980, and the Law 49/2002, containing the Non-Profit Fiscal Regulations).