Financial sector taxation: Financial activities tax or financial transaction tax?

Abstract

The recent financial crises has revealed the need to improve and ensure the stability of the financial sector to reduce negative externalities, to ensure fair and substantial contribution of the financial sector to the public finances and the need to consolidate public finance. All those needs represent substantial arguments for the discussion about the introduction of financial sector taxation. There are discussed in the paper two possible schemes of financial sector taxation – financial transaction tax and financial activities tax. The aim of the paper is to research the possibility of the introduction of financial sector taxation, to discuss the pros and cons of two major candidates on financial sector taxation – financial transaction tax and financial activities tax and to suggest the possible candidate suitable for the implementation on the EU level. Financial transaction tax represents the tool suitable mainly on global level, for only in that case enables generate sufficient financial resources. From EU point of view is considered as less suitable, for it bears the risk of reallocation. Therefore the introduction of financial activities tax on EU level is considered as a better solution for the financial sector taxation in the EU, for financial sector is exempted from value added tax. With respect to the fact, that the implementation would represent the innovative approach to the financial sector taxation, there are no empirical proves and therefore this could be the subject of further research.

Keywords

• financial transaction tax
• financial activities tax
• tax base
• crises
• financial sector