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ABSTRACT

The United States and Britain voiced disagreement over a proposal that would impose a new tax on financial transactions to support future bank rescues.

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The United States and Britain have voiced disagreement over a proposal to impose a new tax on financial transactions to support future bank rescues.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, leading a meeting here of finance ministers from the Group of 20 rich and developing countries, said Saturday that such a tax on banks should be considered as a way to take the burden off taxpayers during periods of financial crisis.

But the proposal was met with little enthusiasm by the U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, who said during an interview with Sky News that he would not support a tax on everyday financial transactions. Later he seemed to soften his position, and said it would be up to the International Monetary Fund to present a range of possible measures.

The I.M.F. is set to present options next spring designed to ensure financial stability.

''We want to make sure that we don't put the taxpayer in a position of having to absorb the costs of a crisis in the future,'' Mr. Geithner said after the Sky News interview. ''I'm sure the I.M.F. will come up with some proposals.''

The Russian finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, also said that he was skeptical of such a tax. Similar fees had been proposed by Germany and France but the government led by Mr. Brown rejected it in the past as too difficult to manage. Mr. Brown is now suggesting ''an insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global financial transaction levy.''

Supporters of a tax had argued that it would reduce the volatility of markets; opponents said it would be too complex to enact across borders and could create huge imbalances. Mr. Brown said any such tax would have to be applied universally.

''It cannot be acceptable that the benefits of success in this sector are reaped by the few but the costs of its failure are borne by all of us,'' Mr. Brown said at the summit meeting. ''There must be a better economic and social contract between financial institutions and the public based on trust and a just distribution of risks and rewards.''

At the meeting at the Scottish golf resort, the last for which Britain will serve as host during its turn leading the group, the ministers agreed on a detailed timetable to achieve balanced economic growth and reiterated a pledge not to withdraw any economic stimulus until a recovery was certain.

They also committed to enact limits on bonuses and force banks to hold more cash reserves. But they failed to reach an agreement on how to finance a new climate change deal before a crucial meeting in Copenhagen next month.

The finance ministers agreed that economic and financial conditions had improved but that the recovery was ''uneven and remains dependent on policy support,'' according to a statement released by the group.

The weak condition of the economy was illustrated Friday by new data showing the unemployment rate in the United States rising to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level in 26 years.

The finance ministers also acknowledged that withdrawing stimulus packages required a balancing act to avoid stifling the nascent economic recovery.

''If we put the brakes on too quickly, we will weaken the economy and the financial system, unemployment will rise, more businesses will fail, budget deficits will rise and the ultimate cost of the crisis will be greater,'' Mr. Geithner said. ''It is too early to start to lean against recovery.''

As part of the group's global recovery plan, the United States would aim to increase its savings rate and reduce its trade deficit, while countries like China and Germany would reduce their dependence on exports. Economic imbalances were widely faulted as helping to bring about the global economic downturn.

Mr. Geithner acknowledged Saturday that the changes would take time but that ''what we are seeing so far has been encouraging.''

An international agency will check that the Group of 20 nations are adhering to new rules intended to curb bank bonuses, an official said, answering calls from France for strict compliance, Reuters reported from St. Andrews, Scotland.

Mario Draghi, chairman of the Financial Stability Board, said ''the members of the F.S.B. and the G-20 will lead by example.'' However, it was unclear what sanctions could be imposed for noncompliance, apart from exposing any offenders to public glare.

Mr. Draghi was speaking with reporters Saturday after updating finance ministers from the G-20 nations on progress in implementing regulatory measures agreed to in September.

The G-20 has directed the stability board to make sure that a wide range of new financial regulation is applied consistently across the world. French officials were concerned that their country's banks would be put at a disadvantage if the United States interpreted the bonus curbs more loosely.

Mr. Draghi also said that the world's biggest banks were still too optimistic about the state of their own finances, adding that the authorities should be wary of allowing some of them to exit the government programs now supporting them.

The findings of the stability board, he said, were borne out by the self-assessments that 20 banks gave to regulators. He did not name the banks.