Germany Vs London Day I

Why would German Chancellor Angela Merkel favor the Tobin tax, which is a very, very heavy tax on financial transactions? Why does London oppose it? It has to do with the different kind of bank-corporate system in Germany as contrasted with the capital markets in London and America. The German system is one in which major banks directly control corporations and open markets for corporate control, as in London and America, play a much smaller role in affecting corporate management. Merkel doesn’t mind killing off the capital markets in London and elsewhere in favor of German banks maintaining their closed-door corporate control. This would prevent takeovers of German companies and keep the German capital market a domestic affair. She no doubt is very annoyed at how the open capital markets have marked down sovereign debts in Europe and even rejected a German bond offering recently.

 

Advertisements