Representatives of businesses throughout France and Germany have expressed their strong reservations about the planned financial transactions tax (FTT) currently under discussion among some member countries of the European Union (EU). Medef, BDI and Europlace have issued a joint statement in which they warn that the FTT would have negative consequences for the economies of European countries and that would run counter to what is needed at a time when the economies are still in a fragile state following the financial crisis. The effect of the FTT may be that some financial activities may be diverted away from the eleven EU member states that are taking part in the project to introduce an FTT. The competitive position of the whole Eurozone could be negatively affected.
