Times of Israel reports that the Jerusalem Municipality has placed a lien on the bank accounts of the Vatican-owned Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center. The Center contains a guest house with rooms and suites for travelers, a chapel, restaurants and other facilities. Municipal authorities say that the Center owes $5 million in back taxes, contending that it operates as a regular hotel. The Vatican says it is a non-profit organization serving Christian pilgrims. The paper explains in part:
Religious institutions in Israel, including churches and monasteries, are exempt from paying property tax. However, in recent years, Israel has sought to come to an agreement with the Vatican that would place Church-owned commercial enterprises — like hotels and coffee shops — under taxation…..
The Church’s position is that since the sides have not come to a final agreement, the existing arrangement in which no properties are taxed should remain in force.
The state has not fought this claim, but in 2018, the Jerusalem municipality decided — citing the legal opinion of Gabriel Hallevy, whom it described as an international law expert — that the exemption for churches applies only to properties used “for prayer, for the teaching of religion, or for needs arising from that.”
The church argues that the guest house functions as a religious institution, and should be exempt from the taxes….