Reforming financial sector taxation: what has been done and what challenges remain?

This event was co-organised by Bruegel and the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the International Monetary Fund.

Building on the IMF’s report, at the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit Heads of States agreed that “the financial sector should make a fair and substantial contribution towards paying for any burdens associated with government interventions, where they occur, to repair the financial system or fund resolution.” The purpose of this workshop was to take stock of the actions taken since the onset of the crisis, to revisit the debate on various financial sector taxes and to assess the challenges ahead.

Please note the workshop was held under the Chatham House Rule.

Practical details

• Venue: Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Bruxelles
• Time: 18 September 2012, 9:30 - 18:00
• Contact: [email protected]

Event materials

• "Financial Sector Taxation - The IMF's Report to the G-20 and Background Material" here
• "Taxing Financial Transactions: An Assessment of Administrative Feasibility", IMF Working Paper here
• "Taxing Financial Transactions: Issues and Evidence", IMF Working Paper here
• "Financial Transaction Tax: Small is Beautiful", Bruegel Policy Contribution
• "Rethinking the Taxation of the Financial Sector", CESifo economic studies here
• "Taxing Finance", article in Finance & Development here
• Biographies of speakers here
• Press release here

Agenda here

09.30-10.00 Coffee

10.00-10.30 Welcome and opening remarks

• Carlo Cottarelli, Director, IMF FAD, Washington, D.C.
• Jean Pisani-Ferry, Director of Bruegel, Belgium
• Nemat Shafik, Deputy Managing Director, IMF, Washington, D.C.

10.30-12.30 Session 1: ‘Bank taxes’: taxes on balance sheets

Chair: Mario Nava, Acting Director & Head of Unit for Banks and Financial conglomerates, European Commission, DG MARKT

Rationales and broad design issues:

Michael Keen, Deputy Director, IMF FAD here

Country experiences:

• Fredrik Bystedt, Director-General, Financial Markets and Institutions, Swedish Ministry of Finance here
• Christian Kastrop, Deputy-Director General, Economic Policy Department, Director of Public Finance and Economic Affairs, German Ministry of Finance here
• Mike Williams, Director Business and International Tax, HM Treasury

Industry perspective:

• Roger Kaiser, Senior Adviser, European Banking Federation here

Discussion

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13.30-14.30 Session 2: Financial transaction taxes

Chair: Zsolt Darvas, Research Fellow at Bruegel, Belgium

Speakers:

• Roland Bellegarde, Group Executive VP and Head of European Execution, NYSE Euronext
• Rolf Diemer, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG TAXUD here
• John Vella, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation

Discussion

14.30-15.30 Session 3: Financial Activities Tax (FAT) and Value Added Tax (VAT)

Chair: Emmanuel van der Mensbrugghe, Director Offices in Europe, IMF

Speakers:

• Michel Aujean, Partner of Taj, Former Head of tax policy, EU Commission here
• Marianna Jonasdottir, Director General, Revenue and Taxation Department, Ministry of Finance, Iceland here
• Victoria Perry, Division Chief, Tax Policy, IMF FAD, Washington, D.C. here

Discussion

15.30-15.50 Coffee break

15.50-17.20 Closing panel

Chair: Nemat Shafik, Deputy Managing Director, IMF, Washington, D.C.

Speakers:

• Josef Christl, Managing Director of Macro-Consult and Advisor to the Management Board of ERSTE Group
• Carlo Cottarelli, Director, FAD IMF, Washington, D.C.
• Pierre Habbard, Senior Economist of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
• Jean Pisani-Ferry, Director of Bruegel, Belgium