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

Quote from sheda:

I thought they droped the common corporate tax base in order to get goverments to accept other measures? How much longer are these loons going to be allowed to continue, they are cancer to Europe.
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Germany and France are going hell for leather to fortify Franco-German hegemony in Europe using the euro crisis as smokescreen. Let's hope other countries call their bluff, but it is a deeply worrying trend.
 
Quote from Explorer:

Germany and France are going hell for leather to fortify Franco-German hegemony in Europe using the euro crisis as smokescreen. Let's hope other countries call their bluff, but it is a deeply worrying trend.
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Hey everyone I haven't posted much lately but I have been following the ftt issue pretty closely. I honestly don't know what to make of the situation currently (LOL). It seems like every other article you read regarding the ftt in Europe contradicts the previous one.

I really hope that France and Germany are just bluffing to appease their constituents but I'm not so sure. We know there is no chance of a full EU ftt and it's still unlikely (to me) that they will get a full Eurozone one either. I think we might see some sort of ftt with a hodge podge of 'willing' countries. If this turns out to be the case we just need to hope that the experiment turns out to be a disaster (which it will) and that any other country thinking about signing on is scared away.

I still hold the belief that the UK will never sign on nor will the US (and many other G20) countries.

-Guru
 
Quote from listedguru:

I really hope that France and Germany are just bluffing to appease their constituents but I'm not so sure. We know there is no chance of a full EU ftt and it's still unlikely (to me) that they will get a full Eurozone one either. I think we might see some sort of ftt with a hodge podge of 'willing' countries.
-Guru
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As best as I can tell, following is the current EU FTT scorecard.

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AGAINST THE FTT:

EU-27 countries:
(1) UK
(2) Sweden
(3) Czech Republic
(4) Romania
(5) Bulgaria
(6) Denmark [recently announced they would only support FTT if it’s global]

EZ-17 countries:
(7) Malta
(8) Cypress
(9) Ireland
(10) Slovenia

Others of interest (all EZ-17):
(11) Finland [PM recently said they would only support FTT if it includes Sweden and the UK, but FM says Finland supports any FTT]
(12) Luxembourg [PM and FM not in agreement –- likely to vote no unless FTT includes UK]
(13) Netherlands [has been neutral -- recent Ministry of Economic Affairs report recommends against the FTT]
(14) Italy [unclear –- reticent to support the FTT in the past, but now say they will support at EU-level]
(15) Austria [unclear –- generally support the FTT, but in the past the President has said that they will only support if includes the UK ]
 
Quote from tomdavis:
(15) Austria [unclear –- generally support the FTT, but in the past the President has said that they will only support if includes the UK ] [/B]
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Some pages ago I questioned whether Austria would specifically support an EZ-only ftt. Unfortunately it seems they do (as do Belgium):

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...orse-euro-area-financial-transaction-tax.html

This was in November. The statement about including the UK came in September.
 
Quote from Explorer:

Some pages ago I questioned whether Austria would specifically support an EZ-only ftt. Unfortunately it seems they do (as do Belgium):

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...orse-euro-area-financial-transaction-tax.html

This was in November. The statement about including the UK came in September.
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Thanks for the correction. Here's the updated list.

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AGAINST THE FTT:

EU-27 countries:
(1) UK
(2) Sweden
(3) Czech Republic
(4) Romania
(5) Bulgaria
(6) Denmark [recently announced they would only support FTT if it’s global]

EZ-17 countries:
(7) Malta
(8) Cypress
(9) Ireland
(10) Slovenia

Others of interest (all EZ-17):
(11) Finland [PM recently announced they would only support FTT if it includes Sweden and the UK, but FM says Finland supports any FTT]
(12) Luxembourg [PM and FM not in agreement –- likely to vote no unless FTT includes UK]
(13) Netherlands [has been neutral -- recent Ministry of Economic Affairs report recommends against the FTT]
(14) Italy [unclear -- reticent to support the FTT in the past, but now say they will support at EU-level]
 
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs...de-part-american-war-against-euro_617109.html

An example of how some German leaders view the US-based rating agencies cooperating with financial services companies to sell-short the euro and EU interests.

Funny, some of us feel the Germans have declared this same type of war on banking, trading and funds with their FTT and other policies like restrictions on short selling, new regulations and more._

Logic goes out the window when these types of emotions and strong feelings come into play. FTT is illogical, but it may be a tool of financial warfare.

If S&P feels FTT will hurt growth and financial services and that contributes to their downgrade, then it's unfair to say its a war on Germany. Germany has the power to end that damaging tax proposal and keep their ratings accordingly.
 
A fantastic speech by the Danish PM:

http://www.theparliament.com/latest...s-europe-is-on-edge-of-political-catastrophe/

"Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has told MEPs that Europe "stands on the edge of a political and economic catastrophe".

The former MEP was speaking in parliament as Denmark takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU.

Speaking on Wednesday, she said, "My greatest hope for the Danish presidency is for some plain speaking.

"It is sometimes said that the most courageous act in democratic politics is speaking 'truth unto power'.

"The presidency has begun well with its frank assessment of the damage a financial transaction tax would cause. I hope the presidency will continue in this vein and tell all leaders of the EU that the time has come to face the truth about the eurozone and the underlying European economic weakness."

Thorning-Schmidt, who was elected premier last year, was also scathing of the EU summit in Brussels in December which she called a "staggering missed opportunity".

She told the plenary in Strasbourg, "Instead of facing reality, the council has embarked on another round of introspective institutional navel-gazing."

She said the EU was "currently in the midst of not one but two great crises.

The eurozone may be the most immediate problem but we must not lose sight of the fact that Europe faces a fundamental challenge to its international economic position. We are losing competitiveness in the global market place.

"We are falling behind more dynamic regions of the world. We are allowing bureaucracy to stifle enterprise, and regulation to hamper innovation. As we work towards Europe 2020, we need a growth agenda which creates jobs, which encourages business."

The PM, whose country holds the presidency until the summer, said, "The EU must focus on stimulating economic reform and developing the single market.

"We therefore support some of the key priorities of the presidency."

MEP reaction to her address was swift, with European Conservatives and Reformists leader Martin Callanan MEP calling on Denmark to focus on economic competitiveness, growth and the single market.

He agreed with her comments about the summit, saying the meeting was "no springboard for recovery but more likely a prelude to disaster".

He said the agreement, over which UK prime minister David Cameron wielded the UK veto, "might solve the next eurozone crisis but not the current one".

"What is worse is that the European council diverted valuable political energy and resources away from facing the reality of the crisis. And in the aftermath, many have sought to make scapegoats of those who neither caused the problem nor have the power to implement a solution, maybe to distract attention from the summit's glaring failure," said Callanan.
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Quote from Explorer:

A fantastic speech by the Danish PM:

http://www.theparliament.com/latest...s-europe-is-on-edge-of-political-catastrophe/
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More straight talk from Denmark. Sounds like they've had their fill of Merkozy.

http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/45293

The Danish government is right and suddenly it seems the Franco-German juggernaut is facing major roadblocks in trying to shape the EU as it wants. And Ms. Vestager was rather blunt about it as she explained the EU Presidency position. "Bridge building means to be a presidency listening to what people want and making sure that we're not ending up with a 'Europe 2', meaning France and Germany, but Europe 27," she said.
 
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