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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...

The idea is age-old, but its time may soon be coming. A tax on financial transactions could help to stem short-term speculation on the markets. French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to push the tax through in Europe—if necessary even without Britian, which has doggedly resisted such measures. Sarkozy picked up a new ally for the plan this week as well: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also willing to venture going it alone to implement the tax exclusively within the 17 members of the euro zone. It would not directly apply to London, Europe's most important financial center. Ironically, it was...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Sunday rejected talk of a euro crisis and said Rome was open to the idea of a tax on financial transactions championed by France—but only if the measure was part of an EU-wide effort. "The euro is not in crisis, the currency has solidly maintained its exchange rate with the dollar," Monti said on RAI 3 public television, adding that Italy's "banking system is not under threat". "The problem we are facing is that some EU countries have a public debt crisis," he said. "Our crisis is a systemic crisis." Monti, a former European...

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday he would block any attempt to introduce an EU-wide financial transaction tax because he fears it will harm jobs and prosperity in Europe. Cameron said countries such as France pushing for the introduction of such a levy were welcome to go ahead and introduce it within their own borders. But implementing a tax in the European Union when countries in the rest of the world were not bound by it would have a negative effect on jobs and prosperity in Europe, he said. "If the French themselves want to go ahead with a...

BRUSSELS—A junior minister in the French government has predicted there will be an EU financial transactions tax by the end of 2012 in remarks likely to annoy fellow EU countries on many levels. EU affairs minister Jean Leonetti spoke out on the subject on the French LCI news channel on Wednesday (4 December), saying: "It's on the agenda of the next EU summit, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel have decided it and it will be put in place before the end of 2012." … The European Commission last September put out detailed proposals on a tax designed to capture €57...

ALBUQUERQUE — As Senator Jeff Bingaman shook hands of those congratulating him on his years of service, he turned to the crowd and said: “Sure seems like a wake in here, doesn’t it?’’ The 67-year-old Democrat announced yesterday that he would retire after the end of his current term, which ends in two years. The decision was the latest in a string of departures to hit congressional Democrats as they head to the 2012 elections.....

Some 183 organisations from 42 countries have come together to issue a plea to world leaders to impose a tax on financial transactions to help meet the costs of the economic crisis. The group is the largest coalition yet to demand that a tax is levied on international financial transactions. Members include Britain's Robin Hood Tax campaign, supported by the TUC, Friends of the Earth and ActionAid. Their plea comes ahead of the summit of leaders of G20 economic powers in the South Korean capital Seoul on November 11-12. The issue of measures needed to stabilise the world economy and...

When Larry Summers was president of Harvard, a woman by the name of Iris Mack was fired from Harvard Capital Management. The problem with this? A month before she was fired she sent Summers an email warning him about the quality of the portfolio managers at HMC and also about the dangerous derivatives positions that HMC was taking on that ultimately resulted in huge losses for Harvard. {snip] The story of Summers' mismanagement of Harvard's finances appears to be a story that won't seem to die. Most recently showcased by Bloomberg. Now focus appears to be picking up on Mack,...

Raising $100 billion a year of climate finance by 2020 is challenging, but possible through mechanisms including carbon markets, domestic carbon taxes and a variety of international transportation taxes, a United Nations advisory group said in a report Friday. Earlier this year, the UN's Ban established the panel, which includes U.S. National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, billionaire financier George Soros and Deutsche Bank vice-chairman Caio Koch-Weser. The financing will be used to support mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries--in particular, for the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

In a classic case of misdirection, while the media are preoccupied with the fate of the Bush tax cuts, President Obama is preparing to attend a United Nations summit next week to endorse “innovative finance mechanisms”—global taxes—to drain even more wealth out of the U.S. economy. A draft “outcome document” produced in advance of the September 20-22 U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) commits the nations of the world to supporting “innovative financing mechanisms” to supplement foreign aid spending. The term “innovative financing mechanisms” is a U.N. euphemism for global taxes. But the document actually goes further, praising...