France is agitating for a full overhaul of Europe’s planned financial transaction tax to scale back its reach over derivatives markets while controversially extending the levy to currency trades, reports The Financial Times.
Paris sees major flaws in the European Commission proposal for the “Robin Hood tax” across 11 eurozone countries, which it fears will backfire by targeting the wrong type of transactions.
Christian Noyer, France’s central bank governor, on Tuesday said the commission plan would “bring in nothing”, push trading off-shore, and could be “detrimental” to financing the economy.
“Let’s be clear – this is not a tax confined to banks . . . it would have repercussions on companies and individuals,” he said in Paris during his annual comments on the economy.
In behind-the-scenes talks in Brussels, French officials are instead pressing for a form of “stamp duty” – moving the tax to an “issuance principle” – which would cover equities, some bonds and a narrow range of derivatives.
Read more of this report from The Financial Times.