France and Germany
agreed that a planned pan-European tax on financial transactions should
cover all derivatives products, a source close to French Finance
Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Wednesday.
President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a joint meeting of their two cabinets in Paris that they wanted other EU partners to agree on such a levy by European Parliament elections in May.
France and its banks have in the past warned that imposing a transactions tax across the board of financial products could damage Europe's financial sector. But Germany has in recent days suggested a compromise under which different components of the tax could be phased in over time.
While Hollande and Merkel signalled their will for the 11 countries who back the tax to conclude a deal on it by the European elections, it was still not clear how high the final tax would be and when it would be applied to specific products.
Asked whether he favoured a phase-in of the tax as suggested by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble - starting with share trades first - Hollande said such details would be worked out in minister-level discussions.
"The main thing is that it happens. If we seek the perfect product, I know there are some people who will go so deep into details that there will never be a financial transactions tax. I prefer an imperfect tax to no tax at all," he said.
Note EU-Digest: every politician in the European Union should keep in mind that we elected them to defend the interests of the voters and not only the interests of the financial, banking industry, or specific corporate interest groups.
Read more: Germany, France back EU tax on derivatives - French source | Reuters
President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a joint meeting of their two cabinets in Paris that they wanted other EU partners to agree on such a levy by European Parliament elections in May.
France and its banks have in the past warned that imposing a transactions tax across the board of financial products could damage Europe's financial sector. But Germany has in recent days suggested a compromise under which different components of the tax could be phased in over time.
While Hollande and Merkel signalled their will for the 11 countries who back the tax to conclude a deal on it by the European elections, it was still not clear how high the final tax would be and when it would be applied to specific products.
Asked whether he favoured a phase-in of the tax as suggested by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble - starting with share trades first - Hollande said such details would be worked out in minister-level discussions.
"The main thing is that it happens. If we seek the perfect product, I know there are some people who will go so deep into details that there will never be a financial transactions tax. I prefer an imperfect tax to no tax at all," he said.
Note EU-Digest: every politician in the European Union should keep in mind that we elected them to defend the interests of the voters and not only the interests of the financial, banking industry, or specific corporate interest groups.
Read more: Germany, France back EU tax on derivatives - French source | Reuters
