EU Comm Still Wants Global Deal On Financial Transaction Tax

BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Commission still hopes a deal will be
struck for a global financial transaction tax, but it is examining an
EU-wide solution if a global deal can’t be done, a spokeswoman for the
EU’s executive arm said on Tuesday.

“We’ve always said that a tax on financial transactions should be
across the board, global,” the spokeswoman told reporters.

But she added that the Commission was examining “what could be done
at the EU level” if a global deal wasn’t possible.

The idea of introducing a global financial transaction tax lost
momentum earlier this year after G20 leaders failed to agree on a common
position.

Some countries, including Canada, are still opposed to the idea,
which would make a global deal difficult to achieve, thus increasing the
chances that the EU will have to pursue the idea alone.

–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com

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