Nine European Associations warn about the negative impact of the proposed FTT

The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) addresses the ECOFIN Council on behalf of the Association of International Life Offices (AILO), the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB), the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), the European Repo Council (ERC), the European Savings Banks Group (ESBG), the Fédération Européenne des Conseils et Intermédiaires Financiers (FECIF), the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). This is over our joint concerns on the introduction of the proposed Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) under the enhanced cooperation procedure in 11 Member States and its wider effects across the EU and even beyond.

We argue that the FTT would harm the real economy by increasing the cost of capital for companies, reducing investment, and ultimately undermining economic growth and job creation.

With our co-signatories, we wish to emphasize that the tax would disproportionately affect end-users such as pensioners, savers, and insurers, while also discouraging trading on transparent and regulated markets. The FTT could fragment financial markets, reduce liquidity, and create incentives for trading activity to relocate outside the EU, thus weakening the competitiveness of European financial markets. We urge policymakers to reconsider the proposal in light of these risks.