El impuesto sobre transacciones financieras como impuesto Pigouvianointroducción a una controversia

Abstract

For the first time in the fiscal history, ten European countries are considering the coordinated introduction of a general tax on financial transactions. This has reopened a long controversy that goes back to the 30s of the twentieth century. This paper summarizes the arguments in the economic literature on the advantages and disadvantages of this type of taxation, with particular attention to its effect on efficiency and, in particular, the potential correction of negative externalities. The lack of academic consensus on these issues must be understood, first, in the light of the inconclusive empirical results on the impact of the higher transaction costs on the volatility of financial assets prices. And, secondly, as a result of the current struggle between market efficiency paradigm and the new approach of behavioral finance.