French Minister Feared Equity Trading Exodus to UK After Dividend Tax Rule Change

France’s finance minister said he feared a “mass exodus” of equity trading to London if he hadn’t provided clarity to banks about the application of new dividend tax rules.

Eric Lombard, speaking to French lawmakers on Tuesday, denied allegations that his ministry had improperly sided with the banking industry to curb their effort to close a multi billion-euro revenue gap. He said his approach was guided by the general interest, to allow a tax crackdown on so-called Cum-Cum trades to proceed while providing a “clear and non-ambiguous” framework.