The Financial Crisis and the Taxation of Banks: What Stage Are We at?

Résumé 0

The financial crisis has resulted in a renewed interest for the taxation of the banking sector and of financial activities. Various forms of taxation have been introduced or proposed, and some of them, including the well-known proposal on the taxation of financial transactions (FTT) are still being debated. The range of objectives of the various proposals is quite large, from revenue raising and the recovering of financial support by the government during the crisis to some form of Pigouvian taxation, and also the financing of global public goods. This paper reviews the various objectives and the properties of the three main categories of taxes: specific bank taxes, the taxation of financial transactions (FTT) and the taxation of financial activities (FAT).