In spite of United Kingdom, Germany and France having decided to introduce their own banking taxes, the European Commission is pushing ahead with its proposals for a Europe-wide or global tax. The Commission has issued a communication that supports introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) at a global level and a Financial Activities Tax (FAT) throughout the EU. The Commission's proposals will be discussed by EU Finance Ministers, by the European Council in October and by the G20 in November.

The proposed FTT would be imposed on the value of each transaction entered into by a bank. This could cover all dealings in equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives. The IMF for some time has been suggesting that an FTT should be introduced globally. At the G20 summit in June 2010, the FTT was the subject of some opposition, mainly from Japan, Canada, Brazil and a number of emerging markets. Given that the Commission considers that an FTT is only workable if introduced globally, it is difficult to see how an FTT will be introduced.

The FAT would be imposed at a European level on the profits of banks and the wages paid to their staff. Whilst it is more likely that a FAT will be introduced than an FTT, the Commission will have to gain support from all EU member states in order to implement the changes. It remains to be seen how this will be achieved. So far the Czech Republic has indicated that it will not support an EU-wide financial tax.

The difficulties of introducing a global or Europe-wide tax do not mean that banks will avoid a bank tax. The UK, France and Germany is in the process of introducing its own bank levy which will be charged on certain liabilities shown in a bank's balance sheet. It is a practical certainty that these levies will be introduced.