Schäuble calls for EU lead on Tobin tax (tax to curb speculative trading)

[Roland99]

Source: Financial Times

Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, wants the European Union to take the global lead in introducing a financial transaction tax to curb speculative trading, along with tougher regulation of big banks and the “shadow” banking sector, such as hedge funds.

...

Mr Schäuble and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, have been campaigning for a financial transaction tax for more than a year, convinced that it would discourage the most extreme forms of speculative trading in the financial markets.

“I believe that it is in the interest of the financial sector itself that it should concentrate more on its proper role of financing the real economy, and ensuring that capital is allocated in the most intelligent way, instead of banks conducting the bulk of their trading on their own account,” said Mr Schäuble. “That is in the long-term interest of the financial sector.”

Read more: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e1a2c6b2-02fe-11e1-899a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1cMn1vJ4H

[DetlefK]

1. He's a conservative (and not very popular) but he's a "no-bullshit" kind of guy.

[doc03]

2. That's what is needed but unless the US does the same

it won't work. Chances of it passing here zero, Grover Norquist wouldn't allow it.

[Celefin]

3. If it's done at EU level, it will work.

The Banks cannot all relocate out of Europe.
We probably have to kick the UK out of the EU first though to pass it.
But then that's what a majority of Brits seem to want, so everybody could be happy.