EU's Barroso stresses support for bank tax ahead of G20 meet

(BRUSSELS) - EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso spoke out Wednesday for a financial transaction or bank profit tax but admitted it will be "extremely difficult" to get global agreement on such a levy.

"I am personally in favour of a financial transaction tax or a profit tax. And, like the IMF, I think these can be complementary tools," Barroso told a press conference in Brussels before of a weekend Group of 20 meeting.

"It seems to me only reasonable that there should be a contribution from the financial sector for the common good ... there are various ways in which this could be organised," he said.

"I think it is something we can have a real discussion of at the G20."

G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs will assess the world's economic health and discuss ways to achieve sustainable and balanced growth at a Friday and Saturday in South Korea ahead of the G20 summit in Toronto on June 26-27 of the top developed and developing nations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last month that she would lead a campaign for a tax on financial markets at the G20 summit.

However, Barroso said he thought it would be "extremely difficult to get this adopted on the global stage."

Various leaders have expressed fears that in the absence of a unified global tax, companies could cherry pick where to base their businesses with some countries deliberately offering incentives that might undermine the concept.

Barroso added that it was "a real shame" as it would be "something that ordinary people would understand very clearly."

He conceded at the same time that the banks may just pass the costs on to their customers.