EU court rebuffs UK over 'Robin Hood' tax

The UK government’s challenge to the introduction of an EU financial transactions tax (FTT), which it has said will damage British firms, has been rejected by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The UK is prepared to take further legal action.

“The government is determined to continue to ensure that the interests of countries outside of the single currency, but inside the single market, are properly protected,” a UK Treasury spokesperson said.

The FTT, often described as a Tobin tax or “Robin Hood” tax, aims to raise public funds and discourage speculative trading by taxing the transactions of shares, currencies and bonds.

Eleven of the 27 EU member states are going ahead with the FTT: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia and Estonia.

However, they haven’t yet decided how the tax will work, so the UK’s challenge was premature, the ECJ said.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27218615