Senate opposes European bank tax proposal

Members of the Czech upper house, the Senate, on Wednesday backed the Czech government’s stand against a European proposal for a tax on banks in spite of support for it from left leaning Social Democrats. The European Commission proposal calls for the tax to ensure that in future banking crises a special fund will be available to bail out banks without the state having to immediately step in. Germany, France and Britain have already said they will introduce such a tax. Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer opposed the move last week at a summit of European leaders in Brussels. He said there were too many uncertainties about it. European affairs minister Juraj Chmiel warned on Wednesday that the tax would be passed onto bank customers in the form of higher charges.