France Passes New Budget

The new budget includes the introduction of a financial transaction tax and an increase on taxes for businesses and the wealthy.

France's parliament passed President Francois Hollande's revised 2012 budget, including a 0.2 percent transaction tax on share purchases that takes effect today.

Both houses of parliament approved the budget law, which includes 7.2 billion euros ($8.9 billion) of tax increases to meet deficit-reduction goals. The budget law was voted on last night by the national assembly and the Senate, both of which are controlled by Hollande's Socialist Party.