The 11 European countries attempting to introduce a financial transactions tax in 2016 are still debating how the tax would apply to derivatives, raising doubts about an agreement on the levy as planned by the end of this year.

The FTT, which was first proposed by the European Commission in February 2013, is set to be finalised in scope by the end of this year ahead of a January 2016 start date. The Commission wants to impose a 0.1% tax on share and bond trades and a 0.01% charge on derivatives transactions.