Jospin Still In Favour Of Forex Tax

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

05 March 2002

The French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin has revealed that he still favours the idea of a tax on foreign currency speculation, but has yet to formulate a plan which will be palatable to opponents of the idea.

'I continue to be for a regulation of international financial flows, when they are speculative,' the Presidential candidate told French newspaper Le Monde. 'It is still necessary to find the adequate instruments,' he went on, ' but we have to get others to share this conviction, in the first place Europeans then at the core of the IMF.'

European Finance Ministers are deeply divided on the issue of a forex tax, which is seen as one possible way to respond to the challenges of globalisation and bridge the ever-growing gap between rich and poor countries. The European Commission released a report in February which concluded that the imposition of a sales tax on cross-border currency transactions was 'unrealistic', but several member states are still keen for continuing debate on the idea.

Other suggestions to bridge the poverty gap have included Italy's 'de-tax' plan, which would allow companies to donate some of their revenue to humanitarian causes in exchange for tax breaks.

Recommended