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More legal difficulties for the Financial Transaction Tax

18.09.2013

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Related topics: Banking and financeSecurities and derivatives

The Legal Service of the EU Council (Legal Service) has leaked to the Financial Times this week its conclusions that the proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) infringes EU treaties and is discriminatory and likely to lead to distortion in competition to the detriment of non-participating Member States. The conclusions of the Legal Service are not binding on the other EU institutions but the weight of the objections may well reduce enthusiasm for the current FTT proposal and certainly delay its implementation.

The proposed FTT - an initiative supported by only 11 EU Member States - has not been well received in many quarters. The UK government launched proceedings challenging the proposals before the ECJ. We have been closely following the development of the FTT since the second extended draft of the FTT Directive was proposed on 14 February 2013. 

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