UK stands firm against EU transaction tax
The UK will not be among the European Union (EU) member states participating in a financial transaction tax (FTT) under enhanced co-operation on the basis of the European Commission (EC) proposal of September 2011.
Eleven countries announced their intent at this month’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting: Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Estonia and Slovakia. Formal representations in writing will be submitted, after which the EC will assess the requests.
The chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, intervened during the meeting to confirm that the UK will not be levying the FTT.