France prepared to go it alone on Robin Hood Tax

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said it is “unacceptable” that there are no taxes on financial transactions and said that France will implement its own tax even if European countries prefer to wait.  

Speaking at the closing session of the New World conference in Paris on Friday, he said “We won't wait for others to agree to put it in place, we'll do it because we believe in it,” adding it was unacceptable that “financial transactions are the only transactions that are exempt from all taxation.”

“When you buy a flat, in every country in the world you pay a tax. When you go into a supermarket for food, you pay a tax. When you conduct a financial transaction, you pay no tax.”

“Who understands this? Who accepts it?” he demanded.

This followed an announcement the same day from Presidential adviser Henri Guaino that France would aim to take a decision on Financial Transaction Taxes by the end of January to set an example for the rest of Europe, even if Germany does not follow immediately. Earlier that week Jean Leonetti, French Minister for European Affairs, said that France and Germany had decided to introduce a European Financial Transaction Tax by the end of 2012. 

Sarkozy’s position was confirmed yesterday by Benoist Apparu, a Secretary of State of France, who said that a new bill will soon be presented to French Parliament to introduce a Financial Transaction Tax into the national tax system. Apparu indicated that a detailed proposal for the tax’s implementation may be ready by the end of the month, while a bill for the tax could be tabled in Parliament by the end of February.

In his New Year's address, Sarkozy said that financial institutions should be called upon to help repair the "damage" they caused in the financial crisis, and called the Financial Transaction Tax a "moral issue".

In response, Robin Hood Tax campaign spokesperson David Hillman said:

“Good on the French for standing up to the might of the casino banking sector – it's more than can be said of our own Government.

“The UK is blocking a tax that could raise billions, not for the Brussels coffers, but to keep teachers and nurses in jobs in the UK and to help those at home and abroad hit hard by a financial crisis they did nothing to cause.”