‘Robin Hood’ Tax Comes to Part of EU

A tax on financial transactions will come to 10 European countries following the European Commission’s decision Tuesday to allow the so-called “Robin Hood” tax.
‘Robin Hood’ Tax Comes to Part of EU
10/24/2012
Updated:
9/29/2015

A tax on financial transactions will come to 10 European countries following the European Commission’s decision Tuesday to allow the so-called “Robin Hood” tax.

The head of the European Commission supports the tax and encourages the other 17 member states to follow suit—the U.K. is most vehemently opposed—saying that it could help greatly with the debt crisis.

“This tax can raise billions of euros of much-needed revenue for member states in these difficult times,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a written statement Tuesday. “This is about fairness: we need to ensure the costs of the crisis are shared by the financial sector instead of shouldered by ordinary citizens.”

The 10 countries that will adopt the tax include Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. The commission estimated that some 57 billion euros ($74 billion) would be raised each year if it were applied across the entire EU.