India against bank tax, says Mukherjee

Lalit K Jha
Washington, June 23 (PTI) Taxing the banks for future
bailouts is only a "compromise formula", as a section of G-20
members, including India, is against any such levy, Indian
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said.
"That was the compromise formula, because a section of
the meeting that felt that there is no need of having any
taxation as such," Mukherjee told PTI in an interview.
He was referring to the Busan G-20 communique earlier
this month where it was proposed that financial institutions
contribute towards governments' measures to spur economies.
"If there are well placed regulations that can take care
of this problem ... the health of the banks can be protected,"
Mukherjee said when asked if this issue would again be
discussed in the G-20 Summit in Toronto on June 26-27.
Asked what role he sees for India in G-20, Mukherjee
said, "India has been a great stabilising force and it is
the second fastest growing economy. Secondly, we have taken
initiative for the reform of international financial
institutions."
"We are urging for the greater voice and percentage share
of the emerging economies, which has been recognised by the
enhanced capital increase in the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund," he said.
The World Bank in April announced shifting of 3 per cent
voting power in favour of developing countries, bringing their
total stake to 47 per cent in the multi-lateral agency. India
became the seventh largest shareholder in the World Bank
following this shift.
Finance Ministers and central bank governors of the 20
developed and developing countries met in South Korea on June
4-5 to find ways for the recovery of the global economy.
Taking forward the finance ministers meeting, leaders of
the 20 nations would meet in Toronto and would also discuss on
reforming the regulation of the financial sector. PTI