The Italian government plans to use the country's gold reserves, stored at the Bank of Italy, in order to dodge the increase of value-added tax (VAT) in 2020, the La Stampa newspaper reported on Monday.
The recent statements of Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, who have called for a complete change of leadership of the Italian central bank, are aimed at gaining real control over the country’s gold reserves, according to the La Stampa.
The Bank of Italy has a broad autonomy, with its decision-making process independent from the country’s government. However, at the same time, the members of Cabinet blame the bank’s incumbent leadership for failing to properly oversee the Italian banking system, leading to a collapse of a number of credit institutions.