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Finland for global or European financial tax - Magda Hassan - 13-05-2011
May 11 (Reuters) - Finland will push for a European Union-wide financial transaction tax if it cannot secure a global agreement, the prime minister-designate said on Wednesday.
"Finland will push for a global financial transaction tax," Jyrki Katainen told a news conference where he also announced the country would back a baiout plan for Portugal.
"We would like to see it be global, but also a European solution is possible," he said.
France and Germany have pushed for a global tax to be levied on transactions like stock market and foreign exchange trades but have met opposition from the United States and Canada.
The tax is often referred to as a Tobin Tax after the U.S. economist who promoted it in the 1970s.
Katainen said his National Coalition and the country's No. 2 party, the Social Democrats, agreed to promote the tax. [ID:nLDE74A14I]
Finland will also work for a bank levy at the EU-level, Katainen said, and added if the countries cannot reach an agreement on that, Finland would follow Sweden in going it alone.
"We favour a European bank levy, and if there is no agreement, Finland is ready to have a domestic one," Katainen said.
"The Swedish model is a good example." (Reporting by Sakari Suoninen; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/11/finland-financialtransactiontax-idUSLDE74A2E320110511