In the budget law 2025 comes the ‘Fiscal Peace’ on untraced Gold, expected revenue of 2 billion. Meanwhile, politicians want to clarify to whom Bankitalia’s Gold belongs (if the ECB allows it).

The yellow metal, which has always been a barometer of uncertainty and an annoying synonym for security, is experiencing one of its brightest moments. While global markets seem destined for chaos, gold continues to run undisturbed. And this, of course, has not escaped the watchful eye of the government, which is concerned that citizens enjoy the luxury of owning an untaxed asset. Gold is now at the centre of a double political manoeuvre: one to withdraw from the private treasury, the other to claim the public treasury.

The Gold Rush: Why the Price Doesn’t Stop

Gold’s performance has been characterised by a strong bullish dynamic, which in 2025 is unbelievable.

Historical records on an annual basis

The yellow metal has not only confirmed its role as a haven, but has soared to unprecedented levels. In recent months, quotations have broken through the $4,000 an ounce barrier, even touching peaks above $4,380 and registering a rise that, to date, is almost 50% since the beginning of the year. The run is fuelled by an explosive mix of factors:

• Geopolitics and crisis: every sign of global instability pushes investors to liquidate riskier assets in favour of the precious metal.
• Inflationary hedging: gold maintains its value as a long-term defence against the erosion of the purchasing power of the fiat currency.

The Doping of Central Banks (thank you, China)

The real catalyst for this surge, however, is theaction of the Central Banks, which are buying gold at an unprecedented rate, with the (politically neutral, one understands) aim of diversifying reserves and reducing dependence on the US dollar.

The World Gold Council noted that institutional purchases have exceeded 1,000 tonnes per year in recent years, doubling the average of the previous decade. In this context, China is the undisputed leader: the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has accumulated gold for theeighth consecutive month during 2025, buying over 1 million ounces in just a few months. In essence, the market is pricing in global institutional distrust.

Analysts agree: as long as the uncertainty on the international and macroeconomic front persists, gold is bound to maintain its high appeal as a portfolio diversification.

The ‘Diabolik’ plan: ‘generous’ revaluation for the common good

The government, evidently concerned that citizens should enjoy the luxury of owning an asset that is not taxed annually, has come up with an elegant solution for the 2026 Manoeuvre: the facilitated revaluation procedure for investment gold.

The problem (for the tax authorities, of course)

The current legislation (Legislative Decree No 7/2000) states that if you sell your bullion and, horror, cannot find the receipt from when your grandfather bought it in 1960, the IRS immediately levies 26% on the entire proceeds. An exemplary punishment for poor archival organisation.

The solution (an unexpected gift)

So here comes the offer, presented almost as a gesture of charity to solve your embarrassing problem of undocumented wealth.

The hypothesis under discussion aims to remedy this situation by offering a temporary ‘tax peace’ for undocumented gold. Those who adhere will pay a convenient 12.5 per cent substitute tax on the revalued value, instead of risking the 26 per cent levy on the entire future proceeds. With this operation, citizens will ‘enfranchise’ their gold, and subsequent sales will finally be taxed only on the actual gain.

The stated objective is laudable: to bring out the‘parked’ gold and turn it into an expected revenue of between EUR 1.67 and 2.08 billion. These numbers are based on a conservative estimate of adherence of 10% of the untraced gold assets. In short, citizens are being asked to share a small part of their savings to help save (a small piece) of the state. The move is as cynical as it is ‘ingenious’: it points directly at theenormous wealth of untraced gold that Italians, with their atavistic distrust of banks, have wisely accumulated. In this case, however, allow us some doubt about the expected numbers, mindful of the huge flop of the 2023 edition of the ‘extra-profits tax’

Golden sovereignty and where to find it

While the pockets of private individuals are being emptied, the other great duel concerns the national gold reserves, managed by the Bank of Italy.

Senator Lucio Malan launched his ‘crusade’ with an amendment calling for the following to be established by law: “The gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the State, in the name of the Italian people.”

Senator Lucio Malan’s proposal to establish by law that gold belongs to the state is by no means new, but the continuation of a political line that has lasted for years.

Meloni’s ten-year battle

The claim of sovereignty over Bankitalia’s gold is, in fact, a political evergreen of the Italian right. Giorgia Meloni herself has repeatedly reiterated this notion, as far back as 2014, when she declared that gold was ‘the property of the Italian people and not of the bankers’, calling for it to be put in black and white.

• The populist precedent: back in 2019, the Lega-M5S majority had already presented motions (first signature Claudio Borghi) to define the ownership of gold and, in the most extreme intentions, to use it to give oxygen to public accounts. The populist logic is always the same: gold belongs to the people, and the government (representative of the people) must be able to dispose of it.

Italy holds about 2,452 tonnes of gold, the fourth largest reserve in the world. Although the assertion of state ownership is an important political and legal statement, one non-marginal detail must be remembered: Italy is part of the Eurozone.

In fact, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) gives competence over the management of the official foreign exchange reserves of member states, including the management of gold, to the European Central Bank (ECB).

In practice, even if parliament were to declare gold state property, any significant sale or movement would first have to get the go-ahead from Frankfurt, making the claim to sovereignty a debate more political and principled than immediately operational. Not all that glitters is gold , even at Bankitalia.