The British special tax on banker bonuses unveiled this week received crucial backing from France, but other important countries have so far declined to follow the UK's bid to curtail banker compensation.

Reaction to the UK's move underscored how difficult it is to coordinate reform efforts globally. While France said it would likely enact something similar, Germany expressed support for the concept but had no immediate plans to do anything similar. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US showed no signs of following suit.