The Proposed Financial Transaction Tax Directive: The Quest to Create Momentum at the G20 Through Internal Legislation

Abstract

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, taxation of the financial sector has reemerged on the European Union political agenda. Since then, several EU Member States and the European Parliament have sought to stimulate this idea in the form of a financial transaction tax (FTT). This chapter examines the EU's capacity to affect legal and institutional processes in global governance required for implementation of the FTT. It suggests that the EU faces numerous internal and external obstacles in the global playing field. The first obstacle to EU global success lies within itself: strongly divided opinions between the Member States, and within the EU institutions themselves, on the merits of the global or regional financial transaction tax.