The European Commission says it continues to support a global bank tax, and it also calls for a tax to be levied on firms in Europe.

The rationale for these proposed taxes, it says, is that the financial sector “needs to make a fair contribution to public finances”, and these levies could help fund policies to address international challenges such as development or climate change, it says. Finally, it suggests that financial sector taxes could help promote financial stability and reduce volatility.

The Commission says that it believes that a “well-implemented, internationally-applied financial transaction tax could be an attractive way of raising the necessary funds for important global policies.” Additionally, within Europe, it suggests that a tax that would target the profits and remuneration at financial sector companies, should be considered.

It plans to present these ideas to the European Council at the end of October and to the G20 Summit in November.

IE