Brussels, 31/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The United Kingdom remains unequivocally opposed to taxing financial transactions. UK Prime Minister David Cameron again made this clear on the sidelines of the informal summit of EU heads of state and government in Brussels on Monday 30 January. He described as unbelievable the decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy unilaterally to put in place just such a tax in France, “when we are fighting for jobs and growth”. He added that, in a healthy spirit of competition, the United Kingdom's door was open and it would be happy to welcome more French banks and companies.
At the same time, a very recent study by the ComRes market and opinion research consultancy on introducing a financial transaction tax (FTT) in the EU carried out on 101 MEPs and 258 Brussels-based European opinion formers has revealed that 59% of parliamentarians and 62% of “influencers” believe that an FTT is the right way to ensure that the banking sector bears its responsibility for the economic crisis. 58% of MEPs and 65% of Brussels influencers would support the introduction of a Europe-wide FTT.
Strong support (63%) is reflected also among MEPs on the Parliament economic affairs committee, though 59% believe that such a tax would make Europe's banking sector less competitive worldwide. Unsurprisingly, this is a view that finds greatest support among ALDE members and representatives of business. (FG/transl.rt)