1.6% on the transfer of certain Finnish securities, mainly equities such as bonds, debt securities, and derivatives. The tax is charged if the transferee and/or transferor is a Finnish resident or a Finnish branch of certain financial institutions. However, there are several exceptions. For E.g. no transfer tax is payable if the equities in question are subject to trading on a qualifying market. Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen (National Coalition Party) decided that Finland will not join a group of eleven other European Union states that have signed up to be at the forefront of preparing a financial transaction tax in November 2012. Other government parties the Green League, the Social Democratic Party of Finland and the Left Alliance had supporters of the tax. Supporters of the tax are Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain and likely Estonia. For example, British banks opposed the tax. Supporters said: "We are delighted that the European FTT is moving from rhetoric to reality and will ensure banks pay for the damage they have caused; This shows it is possible to put the needs of the public over the profits of a privileged few. It's unforgivable in this age of austerity that the UK government is turning down billions in additional revenue to protect the City's elite." France On 1 August 2012, France introduced a financial transaction tax in French tax regulation pursuant to Article 5 of the French Amended Finance Bill of 14 March 2012. Two other taxes applicable to financial transactions were also introduced, including a tax on high-frequency trading, (Article 235 ter ZD bis of the FTC); and a tax on naked sovereign credit default swaps (Article 235 ter ZD ter of the FTC). The FTT levies a 0.2% tax on stock purchases of French publicly traded companies with a market value over €1 billion. The scheme does not include debt securities, except convertible and exchangeable bonds, which are included but benefit from a dedicated exemption to the FTT. According to French president Francois Hollande the tax will generate €170 million in additional revenue for 2012 and another €500 million in 2013. France is the first European country to impose a transaction tax on share purchases. From 2 January 2017 settlement date the rate increased to 0.3%. Greece Listed shares acquired as of 1 January 2013 will no longer be subject to the sales tax; rather, any