Brussels, 13/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - German bank federations have lodged an official complaint with the European authorities about the extra-territorial impact of financial transactions taxes introduced in 2012 and 2013 by Italy and France, on the grounds that the taxes run counter to EU law. In two letters sent to the European Commission and leaked by the AFP press agency on Friday 13 December, the bank federations complain about the way the taxes apply irrespective of where traders buying securities are based so, if a German client of a German bank buys French bonds, the French tax applies even though the transaction is German, not French. The German banks are not challenging the idea of a transactions tax (Germany is one of eleven countries in the process of introducing a financial transactions tax by means of “enhanced cooperation”) but rather the legality of the French and Italian tax, fearing that all 28 other member states could introduce similar taxes that ignore where the transactions take place. The Commission replied on 29 November, pointing out that it can only act on existing European legislation and the financial transactions tax has not yet been adopted. (FG/transl.fl)