THE CHART THE FRENCH WANT TO HIDE
LONDON would be the biggest victim by far of a pan-European financial transactions tax, according to a graph (above) published by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). Nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of the hit from a proposed Tobin tax would fall on the UK. The data, produced by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, shows that the knock to France would be less than a tenth as strong. Even the second most affected economy, Germany, would only face 16 per cent of the burden. The data reflects the vast size of the UK’s financial sector, relative to neighbouring states.