Italy’s central bank has claimed government plans to promote cash instead of digital payments risk boosting the country’s black economy, and hindering the battle against tax evasion.
Italy’s new rightwing coalition, led by prime minister Giorgia Meloni, wants to raise the legal limit for cash transactions from €1,000 to €5,000. In its draft budget for 2023, Meloni’s government also proposed permitting merchants to refuse digital payments for transactions valued at less than €60.
Testifying in parliament on the budget plans, Fabrizio Balassone, head of the Bank of Italy’s economic research department, on Monday said the cash caps were an important tool for discouraging tax evasion, and other forms of illegal activity.