According to newspaper reports, the Russian Ministry of Finance has initiated steps to eliminate the value-added tax (VAT) on gold purchases. Currently, gold purchases in the country are charged with 20% tax. The proposed elimination of tax will increase the Russian domestic gold demand by additional 50-100 tonnes, significantly higher when compared with the average annual demand of nearly three tonnes. Official figures published by the World Gold Council (WGC) suggest that annual gold demand in Russia totaled 2.8 tonnes in 2018, registering three-fold decline when compared to 2014. There are several reasons which ... (full story)