Canada wins key fight against bank tax
G20 finance ministers approve a plan that allows countries to manage the issue as they see fit.
G20集團財長批准一項計劃，允許國家管理議題當他們認為合適的。
Bill CurryBusan, South Korea — Globe and Mail Update
Published on Saturday, Jun. 05, 2010 7:58AM EDT
Last updated on Monday, Jun. 07, 2010 9:14AM EDT
Canada has won a key fight in its high-profile international campaign against a global bank tax as G20 finance ministers Saturday approved a plan that allows countries to manage the issue as they see fit.
加拿大已贏得一場關鍵的勝仗在它的高調國際運動針對一全球銀行稅，當20國集團財長於週六批准一項計劃，容許國家管理議題當他們認為合適的。
Proponents of such a tax including the United States and Europe are free to go it alone, but the new plan allows the rest of the G20 to avoid the controversial idea and find other ways to reduce banking risks.
這種稅的支持者包括美國和歐洲，是可自由單獨進行，但新計劃允許 20國集團其餘國家，去避開爭議性的主意，和找到其它方法來降低銀行風險。
“The majority of the countries in the G20 do not support an ex ante bank tax, that is clear,” Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said at a news conference following a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers.
“大多數在20國集團的國家，不支持事前銀行稅，那是明確的，”加拿大財政部長費海提在記者招待會上說，繼20國集團財長和央行行長的 2天會議後。
“At the end of the day, different countries will chose different ways of reaching the goal [that banks should pay for government interventions] but there is no agreement to proceed with an ex ante bank tax,” he said.
“在日之終結，不同的國家將會選擇不同的方式，去達到目的[銀行應要為政府干預支付的]但沒有事前銀行稅的同意達成，”他說。
In their final communiqué, G20 finance ministers and central bankers said the financial sector must make a “fair and substantial” contribution to paying for any of the burdens associated with government intervention.
However, the statement then goes on to include wording that will allow most G20 members to avoid a bank tax, should they choose. For instance, the requirement for banks to pay back government aid is limited to those countries that actually bailed out their banks. There is also wording allowing countries to choose from a “range” of policy options in this area that take into account their own individual circumstances.
Europe and the United States are the main proponents of a bank tax – partly to recoup taxpayers’ money used to bail out banks during the recession. But the European Union and the United States have also argued that it is in the interests of all G20 countries to create a fund via a global bank tax so that governments aren’t on the hook again to cover the huge costs of protecting vulnerable banks in a downturn.
Japan’s Deputy Finance Minister Naoki Minezaki and Australian Finance Minister Wayne Swann also spoke out publicly against the tax here this weekend. The G20 leaders will receive a second International Monetary Fund report on the proposal when they meet in Toronto, but it is clear there will be no broad agreement for joint action on a bank levy.
The decision to make the bank tax voluntary for G20 members is essentially what Canada, through Mr. Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have argued in recent weeks as the two men blitzed key the world for face-to-face meetings with key G20 members including the E.U., China and India.
On the complex issue of banking reforms – including a common definition for high-quality capital and the percentage of capital banks should have on hand – the G20 has agreed that a plan will be announced in November when leaders meet in Seoul.
Banks generally resist higher capital requirements because it cuts into profits. But many G20 leaders say sorting out this issue is the most important way governments can prevent the kind of risky practices that were at the root of the financial meltdown.
Agreement is proving a challenge however because the United States, Europe and Asia currently have dramatically different rules on what qualifies as Tier 1 capital and how banks can leverage money.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the G20 is focused on a finding agreement in time for the November meeting of G20 leaders in Seoul in November.
Mr. Geithner also warned that the G20 should not count on American consumers to fuel an economic recovery.
“Within the G20, we discussed how the ongoing shift toward higher savings in the United States needs to be complimented by stronger domestic demand growth in Japan, in the European surplus countries and by sustained growth in private demand, together with a more flexible exchange rate policy in China,” he said.
The G20 includes the G7 countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the European Union.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/economy/canada-wins-key-fight-against-bank-tax/article1593382/
徵全球銀行稅 G20無共識
(經濟日報)2010年6月7日 星期一 03:01
【經濟日報專訊】二十國集團（G20）財長及央行 行長會議上周末閉幕，與會國存在明顯分歧下，無論是提振經濟或加強監管金融業方面，均未能取得實質進展，是次會議可說是以失敗告終。
會後聯合聲明促請各國因應歐債危機，更加關注維持公共財政穩定，特別是問題嚴重國家，應快速制定計劃削減財政赤字。
但歐美在推動持續增長方面看法明顯相異，歐洲央行總裁特里謝傾向收緊開支，認為可改善市場信心；美國 財長蓋特納則認為，中國、日本 及德國 促進內需，有助全球經濟持續復甦。
徵費不同步 恐釀新危機
與會國亦無法就向全球銀行徵稅的議題達成協議，有分析認為，此舉無疑為主張徵費國家，打開徵收重稅方便之門。
英國 《星期日電訊報》引述經濟師意見，指出會議失敗；各國徵費操作如不同步，部分國家如中國、加拿大 及巴西 等，可以較優惠稅制吸引金融機構落戶，或為未來危機埋下種子。
會上國際貨幣基金組織（IMF）、美國、包括英國等歐洲多國，提倡向銀行徵稅，分擔接管倒閉銀行費用，但加拿大等受金融海嘯影響較小國家提出反對。
瑞士 寶盛銀行全球首席投資總監阿南塔指，上述情況鼓勵金融機構進行監管套戥；公司承擔風險，混合使用不同方法或只用特定方法，務求減少接受監管。
籲加強措施 改善透明度
此外，聲明呼籲各國需加強措施，以改善市場透明度、規範及監管對冲基金、評級機構、發放薪酬及場外交易（OTC）衍生工具，並促請巴塞爾銀行監管委員會，在11月南韓 舉行G20峰會時，將提高資本及減少過度投機等規例提出討論，目標在2012年底推出。
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/100606/23/iga1.html
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