European Parliament Adopts Legislative Resolution on Financial Transaction Tax

On 23 May 2012, the European Parliament approved an amended version of the European Commission’s proposal of 23 September 2011 for a Council Directive on a common system of financial transaction tax (FTT). The Resolution states that such a FTT should go ahead even if only some member states would opt for it.

The Resolution:

  • Retains the Commission proposal timetable: 31 December 2013 deadline for member states to adopt implementing laws and 31 December 2014 for entry into force of these laws.
  • Retains the original Commission proposal to exempt transactions made on the primary market, purchasing of securities from the issuer when such securities are first placed on the market.
  • Inserts an “issuance principle” to the Commission’s proposal, whereby financial institutions located outside the EU would also be obliged to pay the FTT if they traded securities originally issued within the EU.
  • Exempts pension funds from the FTT.

The resolution can be found here.