Russia's Finance Ministry told the Izvestia newspaper it is considering complete abolition of value added tax (VAT) on gold purchases. This would give Russian savers an option of investing in gold, rather than foreign currencies. The ministry said earlier the measure could also help returning capital worth tens of billions of rubles to the country. Gold bar buyers in Russia are currently obliged to pay 20 percent VAT. However, when selling ingots, the tax is not returned. As a result, demand for gold investment in the country sits at just under 3 tons per year.