EACT Chairman's presentation to ECON Committee of the European Parliament on the subject of the Financial Transaction Tax

06 February 2012

Richard Raeburn stressed that the EACT hopes that discussion of FTT will focus on whether the cost of the tax will be carried internally by the financial sector or whether it will in fact be passed through to the real economy – companies, individuals and pension funds.

The proposal raises a number of issues that are political in nature, on which the EACT will of course not engage. Raeburn's speech focuses on the extent to which the FTT, if implemented, will give rise to significant cost increases within the financial system. He questions whether this cost will be absorbed by financial institutions, suggesting that the likelihood is that the 'real economy' - companies, individuals and pension funds - will in practice be asked to carry the additional cost. Such an outcome is bad for both employment and growth; it may also reduce the strength of financial regulation within Europe, as companies seek to move their transactions to areas where the FTT or its equivalent is not being charged.

Full speech

© EACT