U.K. regulator backs global tax

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Steve Chiotakis: Over in Britain, the top financial regulator is calling for a new global tax on the finance industry. From London, Stephen Beard reports.

Stephen Beard: The head of the Financial Services Authority seems to take a dim view of the businesses he regulates. Adair Turner describes the financial sector as “swollen” — making excess profits and paying extravagant bonuses. He says much of what goes on in London’s financial center is “socially useless.”

In a magazine interview out today Turner makes the case for a global tax on financial transactions to rein in the industry. Forget it, says Stuart Frazer an ambassador for London’s financial district.

FRAZER: The chances of a global tax are pretty remote. I mean we live in a very competitive world and taxation is an important factor as to where businesses reside.

Frazer says other financial centers like Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong would never adopt the tax. He says they are too keen to make themselves more competitive than London and New York.

In London this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.