Lawyers for the European Commission and EU member states are in public disagreement over the legality of the FTT. A leaked legal opinion produced by the EU Council’s legal service alleged that the FTT was both incompatible with EU law and likely to distort competition. The Commission “strongly disagrees with the Council lawyers’ opinion.” The report also notes that a “very thorough” legal analysis had been conducted on the FTT proposal.

Discussions on the FTT will continue with an expected implementation date of December 1, 2014. Legal Opinion (available on the FT website).