“The tax would be owed no matter where the trade took place, as long as a European security or European institution was involved. If a French bank bought shares in an American company on the New York Stock Exchange, the tax would be owed. To get out of the tax, a financial institution would have to do more than simply move its headquarters out of the 11 countries that now plan to impose the tax. It would also have to forgo serving clients in any of those countries and trading in securities or derivatives from any of the countries. Officials are confident that no major institution will be willing to forsake such large markets as France, Germany, Italy and Spain.”
