TAX NEWS - June 2010

European Tax: Germany's Merkel Wants Global Or European Financial Transaction Tax

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that she will push for a financial transaction tax in Europe if other leading economies won't agree to one.

"We want to establish an international financial transaction tax, or at least a European tax" Merkel said at a meeting of her Christian Democratic Party in Berlin. "We'll advocate it vehemently."

Ahead of a meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations in Toronto later this month, Merkel said she knows she will be urged to adjust the German economy's dependence on exports and boost domestic spending. But she said she will argue that stabilizing Germany's economy and fostering encouraging sustainable fiscal policies in the euro zone is a bigger priority for now. The best way to do that, Merkel said, is to lead by example.