Catholic Church Next To Feel Tax Crackdown

The Catholic Church in Croatia will be next to feel the wrath of the Ministry of Finance , after Minister Slavko Linic announced a new regulation which will mean all financial transactions will have to be transparent.

The Accounting Act for Non-profit Organisations will put an end to shady accounting practices and force non-profit organisations, such as the powerful Catholic Church and wealthy Dinamo Zagreb football clubs, to submit regular income and expenditure and asset reports to the Ministry. Around 50,000 organisations in Croatia receive around 1.5 billion kuna (165 million EUR) of state money, and up until now were not obliged to submit financial reports. But that is all about to change as Linic continues his mission to clean up Croatia’s grey economy.

All non-profit organisations, including the Church, from next year will have to submit financial reports to the Ministry, who in turn will make the information public. Tax inspectors will also go out into the field to ‘control’ the situation, reports daily 24sata. Penalties will include loss of state funding and heavy fines.

Currently private businesses are on the Minister’s radar, with bars, clubs, hotels and even the only cafe on board a ferry transporting tourists have been shut down and hit with huge fines for undeclared income.