Article

Don’t tax you, Don’t tax me, tax the corporations across the sea’: examining the European Financial Transaction Tax as a model for tax multilateralism

Author: Iqra Bawany (New York University School of Law)

Abstract

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, enthusiasm for a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) has been revitalised, driven by similar economic factors as the decade before. As such, this essay offers a timely exposition of the failures of the original FTT proposals by bringing together academic literature on the European FTT with that of FTTs in general within the larger framework of international tax cooperation. By dissecting the reasons for the failure of the European FTT, this essay will make two key arguments. The first is that the significant design flaws of the FTT played the most significant role in its failure. The second key argument is that the experience of the FTT highlights exactly why tax multilateralism is increasingly important in the international tax order and that despite the eventual failure of the proposals, the EU remains the most accessible international forum in which to foster multilateral tax cooperation.

Keywords: tax, EU, FTT, financial transactions

How to Cite: Bawany, I. (2022) “Don’t tax you, Don’t tax me, tax the corporations across the sea’: examining the European Financial Transaction Tax as a model for tax multilateralism”, Journal of Law and Jurisprudence. 11(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.2052-1871.1328