Simon Lewis, chief executive, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) said:

“We welcome the decision to make a legal challenge to the proposed financial transaction tax amongst 11 EU member states, under enhanced cooperation.

“This is a tax that will damage markets beyond the 11 states that are considering it, across Europe and also internationally.  It will act as a brake on economic recovery by increasing costs to investors.  

“All the evidence shows that the tax will have serious harmful economic effects in a number of ways: taxing securities will increase the cost of raising capital for Europe’s businesses and increase the cost of debt funding for both businesses and governments. In addition, taxing derivatives will have a negative impact on hedging transactions undertaken by the real economy in order to manage risk.” 

-ENDS-