TAX NEWS - JUNE 2010

Global Bank Tax: G20 communique to kill global bank tax idea

05 June 2010 -- The G20 will put to rest proposals for a global bank tax, introducing new language in their communique that recognizes some countries did not have bank bailouts and therefore may seek alternative policies, a senior G20 official said on Saturday.

Finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Busan, South Korea, will issue a communique that agrees to the principle that banks should bear the costs of future financial crises. But their final statement will recognize "a range of policy approaches" to achieving that goal, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The communique will also refer to the European debt crisis as a reminder of the challenges still facing the global recovery and will call for greater transparency by banks, but without mentioning the euro zone specifically.