1/4% Tax on all stock trades pushed in NY Times today

Sarkozy to discuss Financial Transaction Tax with Merkel Monday:

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-ma...-financial-transaction-tax-with-merkel-monday

PARIS -(Dow Jones)- French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss plans for a financial transaction tax at a meeting in Berlin Monday, as well as drafting a pact to foster greater fiscal discipline in the euro zone, French government spokeswoman and budget minister Valerie Pecresse said Wednesday.

Pecresse said Sarkozy will discuss a "rapid implementation" with Merkel, even while a number of key European countries including the U.K. are opposed to the idea.
 
Interesting piece from Australia:

Cost recovery-levy sure walks like a financial transaction tax:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/cost...inancial-transactions-tax-20120103-1pjkd.html

Before Christmas the Australian Securities and Investments Commission sent brokers an invoice for what it is likely to charge them in 2012 for market supervision. The charge depends on the type of services and the size and volume of trades and messages.

Some of the smaller, traditional brokers were told they would pay an estimated $40,000 to $60,000, while some of the bigger broking houses offering high-frequency trading could pay more than $1.5 million.

Given the tough conditions in broker land, this added cost could push some over the edge or send a few more into shadow broking, which is less regulated and where most of the recent blow-ups occurred, including Sonray, Chartwell Enterprises, Lift Capital and Storm Financial.

And while the stockbroking industry and the exchanges, including Chi-X, knew the levy was coming - and argued vigorously against it - many were shocked when ASIC sent them an email before Christmas giving a breakdown of the calculation, including how much they would be pinged for ''order messages'', which is the technical term for standing in the market without necessarily executing a trade. For market makers and high-frequency traders, who rely heavily on messaging, the new tax will make their business model a lot more expensive. It will push at least one broker into the red.
 
Quote from listedguru:

So now their saying it's going to be implemented by the end of 2012 and that of the 27 EU member nations only Britain and Sweden are opposed? I call bs on this... This sounds so arrogant saying that Sarkozy and Merkel have decided on this therefore it's going to be put into place.

-Guru
More...

i agree. it's exactly the tone of voice that must annoy a lots of smaller countries. either way, looks like a final showdown is coming in the next 1-3 months. i wouldn't be surprised at all if in the end what we'll get is appr. 10 countries going at it alone;
 
Subsidiary question: Who thinks that France and Germany are so crazy that they may apply it retroactively from the beginning of 2012 even if it is adopted in June or september for example?( Do I stop trading today or later...?)
 
Quote from TraDaToR:

Subsidiary question: Who thinks that France and Germany are so crazy that they may apply it retroactively from the beginning of 2012 even if it is adopted in June or september for example?( Do I stop trading today or later...?)
More...

i'm no tax expert, but i'm pretty sure they can't (and won't try to, so I wouldn't worry). i've never heard of any kind of tax being applied retroactively without any warning at the time the transaction took place. surely this will never hold up in court.
 
Financial Transaction Tax Should Be Global: Danish Deputy PM

http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20111229D2912A01.htm

BRUSSELS (Nikkei)--A global financial transaction tax would be preferable to a levy in the European Union alone, Danish Deputy Prime Minister Margrethe Vestager recently told The Nikkei.

Vestager, who is also minister for economics and the interior, will chair the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council when Denmark assumes the presidency of the EU on Sunday.

"The EU should actively promote a global financial transaction tax in international discussions" instead of a regional tax, Vestager said in a written response to questions from The Nikkei, citing the revenue potential and its ability to deter financial institutions from relocating to tax-free regions.

Furthermore, Denmark would not support a levy applied in the EU alone, noted Vestager. "If a voluntary European financial transaction tax would be created, Denmark would not introduce" it, she said.

But if challenges facing a European-centered tax can be resolved, "We would reconsider our position," she acknowledged.
 
Quote from listedguru:

Couple of interesting points from the above article:

A European financial transaction tax will be in place by the end of year, French minister for European affairs Jean Leonetti said today, apparently moving up the programme.

Leonetti said on LCI television today: "This is on the programme for the next European summit (on January 30). (French President) Nicolas Sarkozy and (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel have decided on this and it will be put in place before the end of 2012.

Leonetti said Germany and France were already in agreement on the tax and that Italy was not opposed to it. He said that of the 27 members of the European Union, only Britain and Sweden were opposed to the idea.


So now their saying it's going to be implemented by the end of 2012 and that of the 27 EU member nations only Britain and Sweden are opposed? I call bs on this... This sounds so arrogant saying that Sarkozy and Merkel have decided on this therefore it's going to be put into place.

-Guru
More...

Let's see what happens when the FTT comes up for a vote. Will Malta, the Czech Republic, Cypress and other countries against the FTT suddenly fold? And what about the Netherlands. They said they were waiting for the CPB report (Ministry of Economic Affairs) on the FTT before taking a firm position. The CPB report released a couple of weeks ago was negative on the FTT. Will the Netherlands ignore their own ministry report and surrender to Germany/France?

Maybe it's this simple: The EU is owned and operated by Germany and France and the other countries simply do what what they're told to do. The FTT will be a test. Will the 11 countries that spoke against the FTT at ECOFIN have a collective change of minds? All we can do is wait and see.
 
Quote from bjw:

i agree. it's exactly the tone of voice that must annoy a lots of smaller countries. either way, looks like a final showdown is coming in the next 1-3 months. i wouldn't be surprised at all if in the end what we'll get is appr. 10 countries going at it alone;
More...

I tend to agree with this position. I guess the next question is what will be the end result and outcome of this? We need to hope that if they do get a coalition of the willing to go along with implementation that it turns out to be an absolute disaster and that no other country wants to sign on. I can't see any way in which this tax is a good thing for any country that implements it. It might not have much effect on smaller countries that don't have much financial activity. But implementing this in the US or UK would be financial suicide.

-Guru
 
Quote from bjw:

i'm no tax expert, but i'm pretty sure they can't (and won't try to, so I wouldn't worry). i've never heard of any kind of tax being applied retroactively without any warning at the time the transaction took place. surely this will never hold up in court.
More...

OK. My 0.006% profit margin is praying that you are right.:D
 
Quote from listedguru:

Financial Transaction Tax Should Be Global: Danish Deputy PM

http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20111229D2912A01.htm

BRUSSELS (Nikkei)--A global financial transaction tax would be preferable to a levy in the European Union alone, Danish Deputy Prime Minister Margrethe Vestager recently told The Nikkei.

Vestager, who is also minister for economics and the interior, will chair the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council when Denmark assumes the presidency of the EU on Sunday.

"The EU should actively promote a global financial transaction tax in international discussions" instead of a regional tax, Vestager said in a written response to questions from The Nikkei, citing the revenue potential and its ability to deter financial institutions from relocating to tax-free regions.

Furthermore, Denmark would not support a levy applied in the EU alone, noted Vestager. "If a voluntary European financial transaction tax would be created, Denmark would not introduce" it, she said.

But if challenges facing a European-centered tax can be resolved, "We would reconsider our position," she acknowledged.
More...

Vestager and her party are huge supporters of the FTT. They will end up implementing the tax. If you read her last "reconsider" quote carefully, that pretty much says it all. If Merkel tells Vestager that "problems are solved," Vestager will say , "Okay, we accept the FTT."
 
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