Financial Transaction Tax Could Be Hard Sell At G-20:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100621-702034.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLEHeadlinesAmericas
Privately, French officials agree the financial transaction tax is likely to prove a tough sell. Even Sarkozy Thursday acknowledged all EU members weren't "absolutely enthusiastic about it."
"We know it's unlikely to fly at the G-20, but France has always been keen to find innovative ways to fund development or climate change and we are prepared to work with Germany" on the financial transaction tax, another French official said. The official stressed the key priority in Toronto is to muster support for plans to establish a global bank levy.
The U.S. hasn't commented on the plan so far, but rejected the idea when it was floated by the then U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a G-20 meeting in Scotland. An official from the U.S. Treasury said Friday that Washington's position on the matter hasn't changed.
A person close to the IMF said the report to be submitted to G-20 leaders next week will mention the idea of a financial transaction tax, while making clear it isn't the best way to make the banking sector cover the cost of future crises or to limit systemic vulnerabilities. The report will also point out the concern that the cost of such a tax would be passed on to clients, and that it doesn't necessarily target the riskiest types of trades.
"You can argue that it's tricky to de-localize banks as you have to move staff, but there is nothing easier than de-localizing financial transactions... All you have to do is move an electronic trading platform," Dominique Barbet, senior economist at BNP Paribas said. It is a particularly easy thing to do on the foreign exchange market, which is the most global, he pointed out.
If a transaction tax were applied on certain European equities markets, for instance, trades would move to a neighboring marketplace, which would eventually result in liquidity drying up.
"In the long run it is an inefficient tool to fight speculation, as it leads speculation to move to even darker corners of the financial system," Barbet said.
-Guru