EU states to get go-ahead for tax on trading

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Germany, France and nine other euro zone countries will get the go-ahead on Tuesday to start work on a financial transactions tax, a measure likely to unsettle banks and trading houses but which will please voters and could raise much-needed revenue.

European Union finance ministers are expected to give their approval at a meeting in Brussels, allowing 11 states - Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia - to start preparations for imposing a tax on all financial market transactions.

The levy, based on an idea proposed by U.S. economist James Tobin more than 40 years ago but largely ignored until now, is symbolically important in showing that politicians, who have fumbled their way through five years of financial crisis, are getting to grips with the banks blamed for causing it.

Some believe that the tax could raise up to 20 billion euros a year, although estimates vary widely.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/uk-eu-transactionstax-idUKBRE90K0X720130121

[pampango]

1. Kudos to the EU for taking this liberal step.

EU set for financial transaction tax

A group of 11 European Union countries are set to get the green light to push ahead with the introduction of a financial transaction tax, Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said Tuesday. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has suggested that trades in bonds and shares be taxed at 0.1 percent and trades in derivatives at 0.01 percent. The money raised could run into billions of euros and help shore up the finances of cash-strapped countries in Europe.

It's still unclear exactly how the funds raised would be used. Some supporters of the tax have suggested they could help fund the EU's budget and create a security net for banks to ensure that taxpayers won't have to pay for bailing out banks anymore.

Germany, France and nine other nations initially hoped the tax would be adopted by the whole EU. However, several countries, including Britain, which is home to the EU's biggest financial hub, refused to endorse the measure amid concerns over the measure's economic impact.

The 11 countries backing the financial transaction tax are Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The Netherlands, where a new government came to power last fall, might also join the bid.

http://azdailysun.com/business/eu-grouping-set-for-financial-transaction-tax/article_32d7c053-3f7e-5c88-8a33-e28c37d168f7.html

Good to see that key EU countries like France and Germany, along with smaller countries like Spain, Greece and Italy, are participating in this financial transaction tax. Too bad that the UK has not joined to make it an Europe-wide concept. Of course, it would be even better if the US joined in this 'Robin Hood' tax (to make this a global commitment) but that seems unlikely at the moment.

[bemildred]

2. Good. Make gaming the system expensive. nt

[cstanleytech]

3. Its a start atleast but they are going to still have to find a solution for another problem and

its one that we share which is employers diverting the majority of profits to themselves and shareholders while screwing over the workers and paying them miserly wages.

[Redfairen]

4. kick *

[dipsydoodle]

5. Tax on financial transactions approved for 11 EU states

A group of 11 European Union countries was given the go-ahead Tuesday to work on the introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

The tax is designed to help pay for the rescue of Europe’s banks and discourage risky trading. It would apply to anyone in the 11 countries who makes a bond or share trade or bets on the market using complex financial products called derivatives.

EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta told reporters after a meeting of the bloc’s 27 finance ministers that the decision marked a “major milestone for EU tax policies.”

The plan is to use some of the revenue raised from the tax, which could run into tens of billions of euros, to prop up shaky banks. This would help out governments, which have had to pay for bank rescues in the past. Some supporters of the tax have also suggested that part of the revenue could help fund the EU’s budget.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130122-eu-nations-approval-tax-financial-transactions-france-germany?ns_campaign=editorial&ns_source=FB&ns_mchannel=reseaux_sociaux&ns_fee=0&ns_linkname=20130122_eu_nations_approval_tax_financial_transactions