BBA comment on the Financial Transaction Tax Announcement
Commenting on proposals from EU member states on the Financial Transaction Tax, BBA chief executive Anthony Browne said: “This would be a tax on growth and is a major risk to Europe’s ability to recover from its current economic problems. The agreement to phase it in step by step could actually make this bad tax even worse by increasing uncertainty for investors.
“There is a common misconception that this is just a tax on banks – but actually it is a tax on businesses and ordinary people. It will hit pension funds making millions of people’s pensions more expensive, increase the costs of everyday goods in shops and hurt savers across Europe.
“The EU’s original assessment showed that this growth tax would increase unemployment, reduce investment and raise the cost of doing business across Europe. EU ministers should rethink these dangerous proposal.”