Lobbying to kill off Robin Hood
(Via Corporate Europe Observatory, March 29, 2012) Big banks and financial companies are doing their best to stop the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT) in the European Union. A proposal for an FTT is on the table, but still has to be approved by the Council. The industry has put all its lobbying machinery to work, implementing a scaremongering strategy, to convince member states to reject the tax. There is a real risk that their lobbying will pay off, either by defeating the entire idea of taxing transactions, or by watering down an already timid proposal
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Considerable Progress at Cannes?
At the G20 meeting in Cannes, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates lent his support to the proposal by France and Germany to introduce a financial transactions tax. According to Gates, a FTT could, even without the participation of USA and the UK, bring ca 9 billion dollars per year for innovative development. The outcome of the G20 for the FTT is assessed differently by the Robin Hood Tax Campaign and Attac France.
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Financial transaction tax (FTT): An analysis of the EU Commission proposal
The irony of the Commission’s proposal is that the exclusion of the most valuable (namely spot) currency transactions from the FTT provides an opportunity to continue campaigning for a global currency transaction tax, writes Heikki Patomäki in this analysis. (2011-10-29)
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G20 Defers Decision on FTT Despite Global Support
The G20 finance ministers and central bankers have put off an immediate decision to weigh up a global financial transaction tax (FTT) proposal at the forthcoming G20 Summit (Cannes, 3-4 November 2011). - By Kavaljit Singh
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144 organisations representing more than 200 million citizens urge G20 leaders to listen to the people, not the banks
G20 leaders meeting in Seoul next week have been asked to listen to their people rather than the banks, and tax financial transactions fairly. A letter to the G20 leaders has been signed by 144 organisations representing 16 of the G20 countries, making it the largest coalition ever seen in favour of an international Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
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