Financial Transaction Tax

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Revision as of 15:35, 1 August 2015 by imported>Doug Williamson (Make wording clearer.)
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(FTT).

A tax to be levied on certain financial transactions. FTTs are designed to be levied at the financial institution’s level.

In 2011, the European Commission proposed a harmonised Financial Transaction Tax for the entire European Union. The objectives of the proposed FTT were to:

  • prevent the fragmentation of the Single Market that could result from numerous uncoordinated national approaches to taxing financial transactions
  • ensure that the financial sector made a fair and substantial contribution to public finances
  • discourage financial transactions which do not contribute to the efficiency of financial markets or of the real economy.

The initiative was also designed to be a first tangible step for taxing such transactions at the global level.


It is possible that a treasury centre that conducts financial transactions could be regarded as a 'financial institution' for FTT purposes. Hence, depending on the respective transaction, a liability to FTT might arise.


See also