France and Germany are both considering the reintroduction of stamp duty on stock exchange transactions – along the lines of the tax that already exists in the UK – as a first step towards a fully-fledged financial transaction tax in Europe.

Although Berlin and Paris insist that they are set on eventually introducing a tax covering a much wider range of financial trading, including derivatives and high-frequency trading, officials in both capitals confirmed on Friday that the levy on share trading alone might be a sensible first step.