Brussels, 09/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - A study by the German Institute for Financial Investigation, commissioned by the German parliamentary group SPD and reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, estimates that the financial transactions tax would bring Germany revenue of €45 billion a year, providing that the number of financial transactions is not affected by the tax, France €36 billion and Italy €6 billion.
In the worst-case scenario, the tax could raise €19 billion a year for Germany, adds the report, which warns that much activity could migrate to the City of London or other financial centres. The Commission's initial proposal provided for inter-bank trading in shares and bonds to be taxed at 0.1% and derivatives at a rate of 0.01%. The Commission's estimates (more than €30 billion in revenue for the 11 participant states) were, however, felt to be overly optimistic by most of those states, which are hoping for a compromise in April and a political agreement in May. (Elodie Lamer)