FILE PHOTO: Matteo Salvini, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the far-right League Party, gestures as he launches campaigning for the European elections, in Milan, Italy, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will cut taxes this year even if it means pushing the budget deficit above the European Union’s 3 percent of gross domestic product ceiling, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday.

“Reducing taxes from 2019 is crucial”, Salvini said in a pre-recorded television interview. Asked if the government should be ready to break the 3 percent limit, the head of the right-wing League party replied: “yes, absolutely”.

Salvini, who is also interior minister in the coalition with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, is campaigning ahead of European Parliament elections later this month.