Settlement Systems and Financial Transactions Taxes

Recent technological advances in payment and settlement systems as well as initiatives taken in the wake of the financial crisis to regulate derivatives markets facilitate the implementation of financial transactions taxes (FTTs). Institutions operating settlement and payment systems as well as exchanges could be required to collect and remit the respective revenues to fiscal authorities. This approach involves much lower costs compared to the administrative burden associated with collecting the tax from market participants. It further reduces opportunities for tax avoidance and evasion. The study assesses the technical feasibility of such a central approach of FTT administration. The analysis is conducted for transactions on organised exchanges and over-the-counter transactions. Regarding the latter, special attention is devoted to foreign exchange transactions that are mostly traded over the counter. Implementing an FTT on exchange-traded instruments seems to be straightforward and is now common practice in some EU countries. The Continuous Linked Settlement Bank and the establishment of Central Counterparty Platforms for derivatives traded over the counter facilitate a centralised collection of taxes also on transactions outside organised exchanges.