Top human rights court refuses to grant Italian church a hearing on tax exemption

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the case of an evangelical church in Rome is inadmissible for a hearing, Alliance Defending Freedom International said on Thursday. The congregation, Breccia di Roma, had appealed to the court after the Italian Tax Agency refused to grant it a religious tax exemption due to the church building’s nontraditional appearance.

The tax authority classified Breccia di Roma’s building as a shop and required the church to pay commercial taxes, although it is a nonprofit and cannot legally earn money, the Alliance Defending Freedom said. The nonprofit legal organization represented the church during a years-long battle through two lower courts and the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation before appealing to the European high court. The organization said Breccia di Roma has now exhausted legal options.

Will Breccia di Roma be able to pay the taxes? A donation fund for the church had raised $85,000 by Thursday afternoon, surpassing the original $75,000 goal. Christians from around the world donated to the campaign. For example, $25,000 came from Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Ark., which sent and supports one of Breccia di Roma’s co-pastors. 

Breccia di Roma may also make structural modifications to its worship space and ask the tax agency to reevaluate.

Dig deeper: Read World Journalism Institute Europe graduate Chiara Lamberti’s report on the causes behind Breccia di Roma’s predicament.