EU finance trade tax to apply globally: Brussels
(02-14 19:28)
A financial transactions tax to be adopted by 11 EU states will raise 30-35 billion euros each year but controversially, the levy will also be applicable world-wide, the European Commission said Thursday.
The Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) imposes tax of 0.1 percent on a trade in shares and bonds, and of 0.01 percent for derivative instruments, AFP reports.
The estimated total is equivalent to US$40-US$46.6 billion.
Under the latest proposals, the Commission said that if any of these investments originate in one of the 11 FTT states, then they can be taxed wherever they are traded, giving them a global reach that could cause uproar.
After strong opposition to the tax led by Britain, home to one of the world's biggest financial markets in London, EU finance ministers last month cleared the 11 states to launch the tax, seen as a way of clawing back some of the money spent in propping up the banking sector during the debt crisis.
France and Germany had pushed for going ahead with the tax under the EU's Enhanced Cooperation procedure and they were joined by Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said the FTT "is an unquestionably fair and technically sound tax, which will strengthen our Single Market and temper irresponsible trading.
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