While judging the ICI exemptions in favor of the Church between 2006 and 2011 to be "illegal", the European Commission does not require Italy to recover the lost revenue "since the Italian authorities have demonstrated that, in this specific case, it is impossible" . This is the decision of the EU executive on one of the procedures opened against Italy for illegal state aid.
As for the IMU, the EU has recognized that the exemptions in favor of non-profit organizations (including the Church) do not violate Community rules. “Non-profit organizations play a very important social role which is reflected in the Italian tax regime on real estate – commented the European Commissioner for Competition Joaquin Almunia -. However, when they operate as commercial players, we need to make sure they don't get any undue advantage. The new Italian law on property taxation ensures that this does not happen”.
