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Around 400,000 Britons live or own homes in the south of Spain, which is suffering a deep recession that is hampering Madrid’s attempts to balance the public finances and stave off a bail-out. Senior figures in Germany are now arguing that some richer home owners in countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece have so far avoided paying their fair share to rescue the euro, leaving Germany paying too much. Taxes on property or other assets would mark a significant change in Europe’s approach to funding bail-outs for eurozone members. Until now, the cost of rescue packages for countries like Ireland,...

The proposal to introduce a tax on financial transactions (FTT)—or Tobin tax—across a number of EU countries by January 2014 is under pressure as Italy wants fundamental changes to the plan and the UK has launched a legal challenge in the European Court of Justice. A statement on Saturday (20 April) from Italy’s permanent representative in Brussels, Ferdinando Nelli Feroci, said: “Transactions in state bonds should be excluded from the taxed instruments in the proposed Tobin tax.” He described this as a red-line, non-negotiable issue for Italy. … The plan was requested through “enhanced cooperation” by 11 countries, including Italy,...

The European Commission said revenue from a proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) should be set aside to fight poverty and climate change, as an investment against global instability. “I would very much want member countries really to take it seriously,” European commissioner for development Andris Piebalgs told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday (27 February). The FTT is backed by 11 member states and would put 0.1 percent levy on bonds and shares and 0.01 percent on derivative products. Estimated generated annual revenues could range between €30 billion to €35 billion ($39 billion–$46 billion) a year. …

Opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband vowed on Monday (19 November) he would not let Britain sleepwalk towards exit from the European Union as Prime Minister David Cameron prepared for tough talks in Brussels this week on a renewal of the bloc’s budget. Speaking to a conference of business leaders, the pro-EU Miliband said leaving Europe would be bad for prosperity and a betrayal of Britain’s national interests. “Increasingly we see euroskepticism on the rise among the British public—we see cabinet ministers in this government openly calling for Britain to leave,” Miliband said. “For those of us like me, who care...

A majority of Britons would vote to leave the European Union if given the chance, according to a survey published on Sunday. The Optimum Research poll in The Observer newspaper found that 34 percent would definitely vote to quit the 27-member bloc and 22 percent would probably do so, giving a total of 56 percent that would opt to leave the EU. …

European Union officials are examining legal options to side-step a possible British veto on the bloc’s long-term budget, in a bid to weaken Prime Minister David Cameron's trump card in the talks, diplomats said. Britain is one of several net contributors including Germany and France demanding deep reductions to EU spending plans worth more than €1 trillion between 2014-2020, which they say are at stark odds with austerity-driven spending cuts at home. Under pressure from Euroskeptics in his own party to deliver a real terms cut, officials believe Cameron is the most likely to make good on a threat to...

The much vaunted EU financial transaction tax (FTT) is set to be hard-wired into the EU budget, with most of its revenue going directly to the EU.A paper prepared by EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy and sent to European capitals ahead of next week’s EU budget summit, where leaders aim to agree a mandate on the budget framework for 2014-2020, would deduct FTT revenues from national contributions to the annual EU pot. Van Rompuy put forward his ideas after private talks with EU countries’ budget sherpas over the past 10 days. He has proposed a cut of €75 billion...

Does Britain belong in the European Union? There are plenty both in the United Kingdom and on the Continent who have their doubts. Now, with the debate over the EU’s next budget raging, a European Commissioner has challenged London to decide. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is also losing her patience over the squabble. … On Friday, European Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget Janusz Lewandowski, Poland’s representative in the EU’s executive, said it was time for Britain to make a fundamental decision regarding its future in the European Union. “Of course there are limits,” he said in an interview...

The EU commission on Tuesday (24 October) proposed that a group of 11 countries move ahead with a common financial transactions tax, after years of wrangling failed to produce a deal among all member states. Estonia late on Tuesday joined an earlier group of 10—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain—willing to go ahead with the tax. The proposal still needs the approval of a majority of the EU’s 27 countries and the European Parliament, after which a joint legal text will be issued. EU tax commissioner Algirdas Semeta said this will be “the epitome of...

A threshold-breaking eleven member states have agreed to push ahead with a financial transactions tax, but the political breakthrough is tempered by a number of unanswered questions. "Today we have received a clear and very welcome signal that there will be enough member states on board for an EU Financial Transactions Tax," EU tax commissioner Algirdas Semeta said Tuesday (9 October). He promised to come forward with a decision in November, but noted that at least nine countries have to formally make a request in order to trigger a legislative process for a splinter group of member states. So far,...

France and Germany still need the backing of a number of member states to put in place a European Union financial transaction tax (FTT), despite claims from French President François Hollande that the tax is "now effective", EurActiv.fr reports. For over a year now, Paris and Berlin have been battling to persuade their European partners to put in place a FTT. … A working group, launched by Germany and France in March 2012, continues to discuss the proposal. Poland and Austria say they will take part in the project. To form a robust cooperation agreement, a minimum of nine countries...

Just when you think you've identified and outmaneuvered the enemy in front of you, another one comes sneaking up from behind. Yes, I know... you're all worried about the number of taxes in Obamacare and Taxmageddon coming in January. Perhaps you think that by simply electing some new people you'll be in the clear. Guess again.You're living in the global economy now, so why not have some global taxes? Think I'm kidding? How about a global tax on all financial transactions? Now a group of United Nations “independent experts” is pushing the European Union to back a global financial transaction...

While the leaders of member countries were meeting in Brussels at an extraordinary summit on growth, the European Parliament approved the tax on financial transactions, known as Tobin tax, by 487 votes (152 against, with 46 abstentions). “The joint resolution of Parliament—whose opinion on the subject is only advisory—approves a proposal from the European Commission presented in September 2011,” reports La Tribune, mentioning that it will not come into force before the end of 2014. …Nine countries, including Germany and France, are defending bringing in the tax, but others, like Britain, are opposed because they fear it will provoke financial...

The citizens' initiative—a participative democracy tool coming into effect at the end of this week—could be used to pressure EU politicians into accepting a financial transactions tax (FTT), the European Parliament President has said. "I don't know if the next citizens' initiative would make the crisis disappear; I hope so. But a citizen's initiative to introduce the financial transactions tax could even increase the pressure on those who are still reluctant," Martin Schulz said at a press conference on Wednesday (28 March). His words come just as Germany—until now among the most ardent supporters of such a tax—appeared to concede...

Member states will pay 50 percent less into the general EU budget by 2020 if they agree to implement a financial transactions tax (FTT), the EU commission said Thursday (22 March). In a last-ditch attempt to undermine government opposition to both this specific 'Robin Hood' levy and the general idea of Brussels raising taxes, EU budget commissioner Janusz Lewandowski put some concrete savings figures on the table. By the commission's estimate, Germany would pay €10.7 billion less to the EU budget by 2020, Poland €1.8 billion, Italy €6.4 billion and Latvia €81 million. The UK, the Netherlands and Sweden—the strongest...

The European Commission has defended its proposal to introduce a financial transaction tax (FTT), saying that it could substantially reduce member states' contributions to the EU budget. José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said today (22 March) that the use of an FTT to finance part of the EU budget would give the EU the funds it needed to pay for priority programs on jobs and growth.He told a conference of MEPs and national parliamentarians from across the EU in Brussels that if the EU's budget was funded by an FTT, it would cut national contributions by half. …...

EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday (13 March) asked the Danish presidency to consider compromise alternatives to the financial transaction tax (FTT) after a number of countries voiced concerns about the proposal. Nine countries—France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Greece—signed a letter to Denmark on 7 February calling for progress on the introduction of a FTT before the end of its EU Council presidency. The UK and Sweden oppose a FTT, also referred to as a ‘Tobin tax’, but some other member states positions’ remained unclear until yesterday’s meeting. The finance ministers of the Czech Republic,...

Member states remain thoroughly divided on the merits of a financial transactions tax (FTT) following a discussion on Tuesday (13 March). A small group forging ahead with the plan is not an automatic process either. With 12 finance ministers taking the floor for a political discussion on the controversial idea, the debate cemented the well-known public positions of several countries—from the no-go of the UK and Sweden to Germany's outright support and several shades in between. "We need a decision in the foreseeable future," said German minister Wolfgang Schäuble, adding that he prefers an agreement among all 27 member states....

The EU commission is revising its impact assessment of a proposed financial transactions tax (FTT), which included a worst-case scenario leading to job losses. The responsible commissioner now says original projections were "misused" and the overall impact will be positive. "The commission services are carrying out a fine-tuned economic analysis," a spokeswoman for commissioner Algirdas Semeta, in charge of taxation, told this website on Friday (3 February). The revised impact assessment is expected to focus on the positive impact of a 0.1 percent tax on primary markets and 0.01 percent on the much larger and more speculative market for derivatives....

BRUSSELS—A six-point plan drafted by France and Germany has suggested corporate tax "coordination," an EU financial transactions tax and the redeployment of EU funds in troubled countries as ways to spur growth and jobs. Following Standard & Poor's recent downgrade of nine euro-countries, including France, in which the ratings agency warned that austerity and budget cuts are not the way out of recession, Paris and Berlin have teamed up once more and drafted a six-page paper called "Ways out of the crisis—strengthen growth now!" The paper—seen by EUobserver—is supposed to be discussed at the EU summits on 30 January and...