I've just had an email saying this:
At today's ECOFIN Meeting (9 October) , 11 governments have agreed to implement a financial transaction tax — that's two more than the 9 minimum that were needed to kick off the enhanced cooperation procedure.
The 11 pro FTT are France, Italy, Spain, Germany , Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Others might join in (Finland for instance was supportive before summer).
EU council press release @ http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/132771.pdf
The next steps are
- European Commission submits a FTT proposal likely to be based on the existing proposal of 0.1% on stock and bonds and 0.01% on derivatives
- EU parliament gives its assent (EP has already expressed its support its support for an EU FTT twice)
- European Council's qualified majority vote to go ahead with the enhanced procedure
Timetable is uncertain, perhaps the above can be done by the end of the year, no doubt there will be remaining fights over the design of the tax and allocation of the revenues but the agreement shows political will which is what we needed.
EU tax Commissioner Åšemeta said
"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," … "I proposed this tax as a source of new revenue from an under-taxed sector, and a means of encouraging more responsible trading. It would also prevent a patchwork of national bank taxes from creating difficulties for businesses in the Single Market," he added.
This is a big success for all FTT campaigners and an encouragement to others to join in.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Very good news, Richard. This will certainly make it increasingly uncomfortable for the excusers and apologists in other countries who don’t participate to continue to make a convincing case against. However, I don’t expect that to have any impact on the UK government. What we’ve heard at the Tory conference makes absolutely plain that this lot recognise their time in power is limited and they intend to do everything they can while they can to advance the interests of the 1% and their acolytes, while trashing as much of what they don’t like about social democracy (lots) in the process.
Which brings me inevitably to Clegg and the Lib Dems. They left their conference temporarily bolstered by Clegg’s call to arms and ‘no surrender, no quiting’ speech. But by now they must be back to knowing that they can say what they like and protest until the cows come home, but ultimately they are simply being used to legitmate the most right wind ‘shock doctrine’ seen in the UK for at least 100 years. Worse in many ways even than Thatcher. What a truly dire situation they have backed themselves into.
Thumbs up from me on the transaction tax. But. It won’t in and of itself create jobs.
Really? You think that the money can be invested efficiently by non-experts (politicians and civil servants) to directly create jobs and kick-start the economy? Not what they are famous for.
I’ve no objection to the Robin Hood tax, but my own ideas will immediately and directly force the financial sector to seek out the most efficient ways to create jobs in the real economy. Please support!
Will be interesting to see the response from the Anglo-saxon nations – UK, U.S., Australia, N.Z. etc and more specifically the financial elite from those countries.
“Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter said the 11 countries would present a model for how the tax would work by the end of the year, and it was realistic to expect the tax to be implemented by 2014.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/uk-eurozone-idUKBRE8980UG20121009
I wish them luck, but luck won’t make it work anymore than it does anywhere else.
I give it 5 years. Good for London, though.
Expect several Lib-Dims to jump ship on the 2015 glidepath.
You know it makes sense: Even if they don’t.
As for jobs?
If people are reducing their purchasing to essentials, or less, then expect a continuation of present events.
The last thing needed is another credit-fuelled-growth boom.
Part-time or temporary jobs do not produce any long-term growth.
Only 11 member countries support this. Not exactly overwhelming support, in fact pretty underwhelming and certainly not a Green Light you think it is.