The European Union's executive proposed a bloc-wide tax on financial transactions it said would raise 57 billion euros a year, but banks described the plan as nonsense and Britain said it would only support a global levy.
The EU's executive European Commission formally adopted on Wednesday plans for a financial transaction tax from January 2014, which will need unanimous approval from EU states and which it said it hoped the rest of the world will copy.
"With this proposal the European Union becomes a forerunner in the global implementation of a financial transaction tax," EU Tax Commissioner, Algirdas Semeta, said in a statement.
"Our project is sound and workable. I have no doubt this tax can deliver what EU citizens expect - a fair contribution from the financial sector. I am confident that our partners in the G20 will see their interest in following this path." Under the plan, stock and bond trades would be taxed at the rate of 0.1 percent, with derivatives at 0.01 percent.
The EU executive said the tax would be imposed on all transactions in financial instruments between financial firms when at least one party to the trade is based in the bloc. Revenues would be divided between the EU's own budget to cut national contributions, with the rest going directly to member states.
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