Whether or not they can get nine votes depends on wild-card countries like Finland. On the one hand Finland claims to support the FTT, but then their President said it would hurt them unless Sweden was part of the FTT pact. What Finland will do is anybody's guess. And then there's the Netherlands who almost say they're against it, but never actually say "no" with any conviction. The same is true of Luxembourg. The only EZ country that's been unwavering is tiny Malta.
The other big question is whether or not Germany would participate in an FTT arrangement if it was just them and a bunch of smaller weaker countries. Who knows what will happen. This situation is as foggy as the fog of war.
Very good assessment Tom. It will be very interesting to see what these countries vote next month. That should give us a pretty good idea where an EZ ftt stands. But like you said lots of 'fog' out there.
One thing is sure, if they ever manage to create an EU FTT, it will take time for its revenues( if revenues there are ) to compensate for the endless years of debates and taxpayer's backed impact assessments. If we add all the money the commission, the EU parliament, Semeta, the United Nations, Unions.... have spent PROMOTING this idea, it is already more than the expected yearly revenue of the french Tobin Tax.
05-22-12 02:15 PM
New, fast, fact-packed. http://www.financialtransactiontaxes.com is intended as a resource for busy journalists and policy-makers who need the facts NOW. And hyperlinked to boot.
There are no commercial tie-ins/advertising/upsells of any kind associated with this site. It aims to be a pure-and-simple advocate for truth. Period.
Thanks, in advance, to the members of the ET community for doing all you can to get this link OUT THERE!
05-22-12 02:15 PM
New, fast, fact-packed. http://www.financialtransactiontaxes.com is intended as a resource for busy journalists and policy-makers who need the facts NOW. And hyperlinked to boot.
There are no commercial tie-ins/advertising/upsells of any kind associated with this site. It aims to be a pure-and-simple advocate for truth. Period.
Thanks, in advance, to the members of the ET community for doing all you can to get this link OUT THERE!
Spread the word -- The Financial Transactions Tax is a bad idea and we can show you why it's a bad idea.
Contact your congressional representatives, brokers, fellow traders, news/tv/media, social networking sites, etc.
Below is a sample email you can use to direct people to the new transactions tax website.
Activists around the world support the Financial Transactions Tax (aka, “Tobin Tax” or “FTT”), claiming it would raise billions in revenues and promote social justice.
As sincere as some of these activists may be, their story is missing important relevant facts.
For example, did you know….
• Desmond Tutu once supported the FTT, but now opposes it.
• The Secretary General of the European Federation for Retirement Provision says the FTT is not a tax on Wall Street, but rather a tax on retirement savings and other “innocent bystanders.”
• James Tobin’s co-author, Berkeley Professor Barry Eichengreen, says the Tobin tax is the “wrong tool” to raise revenues.
• Denmark’s Economy Minister, Margrethe Vestager, says the FTT will damage the economy and “provoke major job losses.”
To learn why a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds opposes the FTT, please take ten minutes to read “Straight talk about the FTT” at: www.financialtransactiontaxes.com .
Activists around the world support the Financial Transactions Tax (aka, “Tobin Tax” or “FTT”), claiming it would raise billions in revenues and promote social justice.
As sincere as some of these activists may be, their story is missing important relevant facts.
For example, did you know….
• Desmond Tutu once supported the FTT, but now opposes it.
• The Secretary General of the European Federation for Retirement Provision says the FTT is not a tax on Wall Street, but rather a tax on retirement savings and other “innocent bystanders.”
• James Tobin’s co-author, Berkeley Professor Barry Eichengreen, says the Tobin tax is the “wrong tool” to raise revenues.
• Denmark’s Economy Minister, Margrethe Vestager, says the FTT will damage the economy and “provoke major job losses.”
To learn why a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds opposes the FTT, please take ten minutes to read “Straight talk about the FTT” at: www.financialtransactiontaxes.com .
Respectfully,
Perhaps the above and http://financialtransactiontaxes.com/ can be made into a sticky on the forum so it is not lost to on going developments, this topic can grow ten pages in days, or perhaps a moderator of this site can see to it that this information is messaged to every member of this forum, etc.
