Hollande Transaction Tax Drives Investor Quest for Loopholes
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French President Francois Hollande’s transaction tax is set to take effect Aug. 1. Not all investors will be paying it.
To escape the tax, many institutional investors will turn to so-called contracts for difference, or CFDs, offered by prime brokers that let them bet on a stock’s gain or loss without owning the shares. Traders have used it successfully to skirt the U.K.’s stamp duty.