Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the UK of any introduction of a financial transaction tax under the EU enhanced co-operation procedure.

The Member States participating in negotiations to introduce a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) under enhanced co-operation are yet to agree many fundamental aspects of the tax. Until these are agreed the implications for the UK will not be clear.

The Chancellor has been clear since the enhanced co-operation FTT was first proposed that any new tax must respect the rights of non-participating Member States, including the UK. We continue to follow the negotiations closely, and remain prepared to challenge the FTT at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) if our legal concerns with the Commission’s original proposal are not addressed.