Do something

Want to get involved? The Robin Hood Tax needs Merry Men! We’re looking for people to spread the word far and wide about how we can turn a crisis for the banks into an opportunity for the world.

Priority 2-minute action
Make waves among MPs: Ask your MP to sign the Robin Hood Tax early day motion >>

Sign Up

Think we’re onto a good idea? Show your support and be the first to get sneaky peeks and summaries of all the debates then sign up to our email list for regular updates. No pestering – just the latest juicy news.

Watch our video

Agree with Bill the Banker that ‘perhaps it is a rather good idea’? One click and you’ve voted. Two clicks and you’ve just sent it all your friends to see what they think.

Join our band of Merry (Wo)men

Be a Merry (Wo)Man on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and all those other places you spend your 5-minute tea breaks. Spend those “tea breaks” telling people how the Robin Hood Tax can fight poverty, protect public services and raise money to tackle issues you are care about. We’ve got some fun hash tags and other stuff to make it easy. Use our photos as your profile picture.

Mask Up Merry Men!

So much better than suiting up and so much easier too. We’ve got a mask you can download, cut out and parade about in.  If our cardboard mask isn’t really your style, show off your DIY skills and make your own: it’s what Blue Peter would have wanted. What about the first knitted Merry Men mask? Or how one that camouflages into the woods? Or forgot all that and just go glam – sequins, feathers the lot.  Whatever you do, show it off.  Take a photo of yourself as a Merry (Wo)Man and put it up on our Flickr or Facebook page,  place it anywhere as long as you add the #RHT we can find it.

Bring Sherwood to your street

Is your street still feeling a bit grey and “January”? Think this tax is the sort of good idea that would cheer anybody up? Let your neighbours know that Robin Hood is here – put up a poster in your window, a mask around your letterbox or in your windscreen.  Why not chat to them about it over the garden fence? Inviting them to be ‘Be Part of the World’s Greatest Bank Job’  will make a nice change from the weather.

Always wanted a ‘Merry’ MP?

We think the Robin Hood Tax campaign is something that everyone can support, from nurses to bankers, from mums to students even MPs. If you were to ask your MP which would they rather: raise VAT, cut public services or tax a banker? We’re pretty positive we know what their answer will be.

Write to your MP telling them about the campaign. We’ve got templates and number crunching facts to help you make a great argument for why the Robin Hood Tax is a winner.

Visit your MP – they work for you after all. Tell them how the Robin Hood Tax will help prevent cuts to public services and stop tax increases – it’s a win-win discussion.

Let us know

Tell us how you’re supporting our campaign, email us with what you’re up to.

  • I've signed up on facebook. May have to get a twitter account just so I can sign up there too. Great idea!
  • juanitadavis
    trying to add a banner to my blog. where is the code?
  • andie2244
    love the idea
  • Benji_T
    I found this on Facebook and have been an avid supporter ever since. I have responded to calls to email and write to MP's, I love the idea. I love the Curtis and Nighy clout. I would love to help spread the word more with some form of bumper sticker, button or somthing i could put in my window or car. Any ideas? Also found this on youtube i think you should comiision him

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9yh9Sfw47A&feature=related

    All the best and continue the good fight.
  • CLFlowers
    After emailing my local MP I have received the following response..

    "Thank you for your recent email about the 'Robin Hood' Tax. I have written to the treasury on this issue, asking if they have any plans to consider the proposals put forward by this campaign. I will be back in touch as soon as I receive a response. Angela Smith (Sheffield, Hillsborough)."

    Will keep posting on here with anything else that I hear.

    Remember - the voters control the government - we make the changes

    x
  • johnpwfoster
    I'm standing for election for the Green Party in Tower Hamlets. Where I'm standing is literally sandwiched between the City and Canary Wharf, but is one of the poorest places in England. Very little of the money earned 'up there' is spent 'down here' but the job cuts and cuts in spending that have been a direct cause of casino banking will be felt most acutely in this area. The GP has always advocated support for a 'Tobin' type tax, and I lobbied that the Robin Hood Tax was debated at our recent Conference. The party has wholeheartedly thrown its support behind it. Is there anything that you can do to help me get the message across. Do you have any printed literature etc?
  • Susan Clements
    Jim Cousins MP (Labour) Newcastle upon Tyne Central responded: I am a supporter of the so called 'Robin Hood' financial transaction tax. This is intended to be a global tax and Government it supporting it on that basis. It is not a British national tax.

    We need to review our national taxes on financial services. This should include a cap on the carrying forward of tax losses, and a permanent charge on bonus pools (not a one year charge as now).

    Most of the transactions that take place globally in financial markets are in secondary markets as a result of hedging operations, derivatives or credit default swaps particularly on sovereign debt. The value of these transactions is hugely in exess of the values of direct trade in goods and services.

    The market is not properly regulated or supervised. It is far larger than it needs to be. It is an important source of risk and unfairness in the world economy. I believe the scale of these transactions must be greatly reduced. The deals must be placed on proper exchanges where there is proper knowledge about what's going on.

    The original idea of a so called 'Tobin' tax was not as a revenue raiser. It was to reduce and bring under control these secondary markets. So I'm perfectly happy to support the introduction of transaction tax in financial markets. I want secondary markets to be greatly reduced and brought into supervision. As these markets are scaled down the revenues would decline too.

  • Chris Crawley
    Heres what my MP said in response:

    Thanks. To be effective this tax requires an international consensus. There is none. I am afraid that it is a non starter. DS ( Desmond Swayne )

    Obviously Conservative
  • Cardinal Fang
    Any chance you could publicise forthcoming events and actions other places that Twitter and Facebook? I am one of the few people in the world who isn't on Failbook yet, but would like to be kept informed nevertheless.

    Cheers

    Cardinal Fang
  • Robin Hood
    Thanks Cardinal. Good point - we're rejigging the site at the moment to make this easier in future.
  • Jim
    Is it achievable?

    Robin knocked Big John off the log I believe.
  • Thomas Brian Penney
    I've signed up because I've supported this idea since it wsa first mooted as the 'Tobin Tax' through War on Want.

    I will ask my MP to sign the EDM (no number given on your site as far as I can see!)and attend your parliamentaru briefing (no date or time given on your site - or I couldn't find it!)

    Good luck with it comrades!
  • john
    Oh dear you are all beeing led a merry dance! Whats to stop the trading just beeing done from another part of this small planet! In China they can bet on whether Manchester United win or loose against say Arsenal. Just ask the betting industry its all done ofshore and you cannot tax it, only those in this country who physically go into the betting shop are taxed. If these vast ammounts of money are traded electronically then this country will just loose the trade seems obvious and simple.
  • John, that same point was made about the bonus tax - that if the government taxed bonuses all the bankers would move to Switzerland. But in fact what happened was that bankers stayed in droves and the tax raised much more than the government had predicted it would.

    The idea of transaction taxes in one country is not new - in fact, lots of countries have their own transaction taxes already. In the UK a 0.5% Stamp Duty on share transactions raises more than £3.2 billion each year, in the US a small transaction tax finances the Securities and Exchange Commission and in Belgium, an FTT on the transfer of shares, bonds and other securities, charged at a rate of 0.5-1.7%, raised Euro 147 million in 2005. What we are proposing is just one more of these, a very very small tax of 0.005% on transactions involving pounds sterling, wherever in the world they happen, as a first step towards a multilateral transaction tax implemented by everyone.
  • jon
    Yes in equities it is applied but guess what the banks dont actually pay it! and you dont have a CHOICE if you want to invest in uk equities but you do have a choice where in the world you buy your currency or lend your money. In Sweden they tried a tax on currency transactions and guess what they had to repeal the law as more than 95pct of trading just migrated away from the country...Your point about the bonus tax i fear is not really relevant as again for an extra 10pct from 40 to 50 pct tax as a one off people will put up with that rather than have to move abroad especially with families etc. This on the other hand ie trading can easily be done as it is already from hong kong, singapore, new york anywhere really in the world. The banks will just move their trading abroad its very simple. Also they could just as easily net their positions out so if one banks sells 100 mio gbp against usd then buys the same amount the profit could easily be just 1,000 pounds! but with your proposal they would need to pay in taxes 50,000 or 5,000 pounds in that case they will just agree to net out the two amounts and you get nothing? Also seems odd as taxing nominals will mean government debt cannot be traded hence the government will not be able to raise any money in GILT market? you see you need a liquid secondary market and if you penalise the investors who are buying and selling bonds they just wont buy them. The same just applies to the Money Markets Banks lend and borrow money for one day if you penailse them with a tax they will not lend and the markets will freeze, some have given you examples if one bank lend to another 10 mio for one day at 1 pct the interest is just 274 pounds so please tell me what tax will be applied to that trade? because at 0.005pct thats 500 pounds tax on a trade that generates 274 pounds for the lender then theres the other 500 pounds that the borrower pays... ide hate to think if the tax was 0.05 that would mean 5,000 pounds. As you can see your arguments just dont stand up.
  • Alan Apling
    Surely the point of the tax is twofold.
    1 - Raise revenue from financial transactions which are for most part simply speculative in their nature and can lead to currency rate instability and affect lending rates ( horse race betting is taxed so why not currency rate betting)
    2 - reduce the attractiveness of such speculative trading to reduce its attraction and move to a state of affairs where currency trading is undertaken only to the level required to finance trade in real physically produced goods.

    Currency trading is a no net win transaction - for every winner there is a looser and guess who picks up the tab - the taxpayer and specifically those on low incomes who loose their jobs as a result of currency crises that occur with monotonous regularity.
  • Phil Fairclough
    I recieved the following letter in response to my email about the briefing on Wednesday.....

    Dear Philip

    Thankyou very much for your email about a Robin Hood Tax. I have been banging on about this for the best part of 20 years. I enclose a copy of a magazine article I wrote in support of the campaign. I hope this is enough to indicate how much I support it.

    Yours Sincerely

    Alan Simpson MP
  • 'Maid' Marian Anderson
    This is the response from my MP (Corby & East Northants):

    Thankyou for your recent email regarding a 'Robin Hood' tax.

    Regrettably because of my ministerial duties I may be unable to attend the meeting on 24th February. I will, however, consider any points that arise form it.

    Thank you again for taking the trouble to write to me.

    Yours sincerely,

    Phil Hope MP
  • Lora Hristova
    Rather surprised and very happy to get such a positive response from my MP, Andrew Pelling:

    I agree with you entirely Lora. I will be at the event. A tax on the banks that are benefiting from tax payer funded liquidity is entirely sensible. Andrew
  • Tom Peterson
    This was the response i got after sending my MP the message, rather positive i do think :)

    Thank you for your e-mail. I am strongly in favour of the "Tobin Tax" or "Robin Hood Tax"and am actively pressing for it to be adopted. I wil check my diary to see if I am able to attend the launch event.

    Yours sincerely,

    Des Turner MP
    Labour, Brighton Kemptown
  • Thomas Clother
    I shall be forwarding your website details to my brother, sister, and some friends as I think that this is a great and timely idea.

    Perhaps you could have a 'click on' option for people to forward your web address to others that they might think would be interested? A bit of convenience can lead to greater participation, as we can all be rather lazy from time to time. Thanks a lot, best of luck with the campaign.

    Yours,



    Tom Clother.
  • Robin Hood
    Thanks so much for the support Tom. That's a good idea. I'll talk to our carpenter about building the device you mentioned. He's a speedy worker so shouldn't be long. Stay merry.
  • Ade Nunnerley
    Dear Mr Nunnerley,

    Thank you for your e-mail, I will make sure to pass on your comments to David.

    David is indeed going to the Robin Hood Tax Parliamentary Launch today. You can read more about it on David's blog - www.davidborrowblog.co.uk

    Thank you for taking the time to contact the office.

    Best regards,



    Andy Bennison
    PA for David Borrow MP
    South Ribble
    01772 454727
  • Mike Adams
    Your arithmetic worries me! "Financial products like foreign exchange, stocks, bonds and their derivatives are traded around the world in massive flows every day – the total value of these markets is around $3,260 trillion a year. [1% = $32.6 trillion, 0.05% = $0.163 trillion $163 billion not $400 billion! How much from UK?] Different rates of a FTT may be needed for different financial transactions but to give an indication, at an average rate of 0.05% a FTT could raise as much as $400 billion (£250 billion) a year."
  • gian paolo ansaloni
    this is the answer of my MP

    GALLOWAY, George


    Dear Gian Paolo

    Thank you for you email.

    For many years I have supported the Tobin Tax, which was proposed by Nobel Laureate economist James Tobin as a tax on all spot bank conversions of one currency into another

    The Robin Hood tax is its natural extension, which I why I wholeheartedly support it, and it is one of my seven featured election pledges.

    Without doubt it will be included in Respect's election manifesto.

    With best wishes

    GG
  • David Smith
    Here is the reply from my MP, David Mundell (Conservative), in response to the invitation to attend the Robin Hood Tax Parliamentary event on Wednesday 24th Feb. I do not think I need to add to that! Good luck with the campaign.

    David Smith
    .....................................................

    I agree with the sentiment behind the 'Robin Hood' campaign and you may be interested to know that the Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has met with its representatives in order to discuss our common objectives.

    That is why Conservatives have been calling for an internationally-agreed tax on banks, which could raise billions of pounds to fund domestic and international policies, including action to help the most vulnerable at home and abroad. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is producing a report on what form such a tax might take. They are considering the practicality of a transaction tax, alongside other options like a levy, a form of which President Obama has proposed and the Swedish government has implemented.

    I also agree that, in spite of other pressures on public spending caused by the recession, government spending on international development should continue to be a priority. We are therefore committed to increasing aid spending to 0.7% of GDP, because we believe that overseas aid can save lives, combat diseases such as malaria and AIDS, and help to create bring new jobs, universal education and other opportunities for people living in the poorest countries.

    In addition, we recognise that climate change is already hitting some of the poorest people in the world, and urgent action is needed to cut emissions and help protect people from the impact of rising temperatures. David Cameron has made this a personal priority of his. We have signed up to the 10:10 campaign, and committed to cutting UK government emissions by 10% within 12 months of the general election. As we have repeatedly stated, we also support international negotiations on new mechanisms to provide additional funding for this important issue.

    Thank you again for taking the time to get in touch.

    David Mundell
  • petitions.number10.gov.uk/TobinTax/
    I have placed a petition for a temporary Robin Hood/Tobin tax. The aim is for national debt to be recovered using this tax. Justification is debt recovery caused by the banking crisis.
    Investment banks are very concerned/worried about a split between retail & investment banking, our ...government is not going to do this, in return we can demand a temporary tax for debt recovery.
    I am in favour of a mandatory tax but this will not happen if the USA are not on board, U.S treasury secretary Timothy Geithner is not on board.
    UK & European governments will not enact a Robin Hood/Tobin tax law as Investment banks would leave & trade from another country which would mean we loose tax revenue raised by those banks. Merkel & Sarkozy are placing pressure on the IMF but the IMF is essentialy U.S run. A temporary tax can be the 1st step (1 step at a time as it were). I hope you will support this petition & pass it forward petitions.number10.gov.uk/TobinTax
  • Sally Capewell
    This is currently my facebook status

    Sally Capewellthis is an amazing idea and would make a ridiculously big difference! http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/ Please check it out, all you have to do is click, they don't need money they just need to spread the word. Put the link in your status too and encourage your friends to do the same if you're a REALLY nice person.

    And after some begging/bribes its also a lot of my friends facebook statuses.. and their friends, etc haha!
  • Robin Hood
    Thank you so much Sally. You truly are a merry woman! There are lots of exciting things ahead but getting the word out will always be a top priority. The more noise we make in the forest the clearer they'll hear us in the castle. Hooray!
  • Dean Riddick
    I emailed my local MP, Brian H Donohoe MP, asking him to attend the Parliamentary launch of the Robin Hood tax between 12.30-2.30pm on Wednesday 24th February.

    He replied with the following:

    "Dean

    Thank you for your email

    Unfortunately I have another engagement at that time but have joined the campaign

    Best wishes

    Brian H Donohoe MP
    Central Ayrshire"
  • Dominic John Rawlins
    Why is there so little about the campaign in the national media,are the moguls at work ?

    I think its a great idea more power to your elbow.

    Regards Dominic
  • EllenJay
    This is a great idea! But I think you need to take it farther. Don't just ADD a small transaction tax to our current complex, insane, unfair tax system -- let the small transaction tax REPLACE all current taxes. This idea is called the Automated Payment Transaction Tax, or APT Tax. It's the brainchild of a retired economics professor, Edgar L. Fiege. For more information, see these sites:

    http://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwppe/0506011.html
    THE AUTOMATED PAYMENT TRANSACTION (APT) TAX: A proposal to the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform by Edgar L. Feige

    http://www.apttax.com
    APT Tax Site
  • david dunford
    Great idea go for it. Is this me singed up for the petition?
  • Robin Hood
    Welcome David. Please sign up at the top-right of this page.
  • David
    By becoming a Fan on Facebook, but I have a couple of points I would like you to heed.
    First, I seem to be getting so many frequent postings to Facebook and to Twitter that it rather feels like I am being spammed. Less is more I think!
    Secondly, I tried to send the message to my MP. I did stage 1 by entering my postcode which took me to the next page, stage 2. I tried posting my own longer message in addition to your standard wording and filled in the boxes for personal info below as required, but on clicking SEND nothing seemed to happen. I re-tried it several times, both with my amended message and with just your wording, returning to the start to enter my postcode each time. On each occasion nothing seemed to happen. Did it get sent, in which case I have inadvertently spammed my MP several times? Did it fail? The page did not turn and go to a new one with any confirmation message like 'Message Sent' so I assume not.
    I would appreciate your advising as to whether this part of your website is working properly and whether my message (any of them, and which one) was indeed sent.
    Thank you.
  • Robin Hood
    @David. I am really sorry if it feels like you're being spammed. We have only posted once to Facebook and 3 times on Twitter in the last 24 hours and have quite strict guidelines to prevent excessive posting. We heed your warning though. I have just discovered that there might be a problem with the MP action form if using the latest versions of Firefox. Annoying. Not least because that is our browser of choice too. This is being addressed by the suopliers of our e-action software. In the interim please try again with Internet Explorer. Many apologies for the inconvenience.
  • bella
    So assuming that it is implemented, and the money is generated, and it works to solve the all the problems in the world. Which sounds fantastic!

    What is to stopping the banks from passing on the loss of income (even a little) margin to the people with increased charges / fees?
  • Robin Hood
  • Al
    With its other industries dying out to both lower cost Asian countries and better skilled European competitors, Britain's world leading financial services is what keeps the UK from disappearing into yet another insignificant old country.

    Financial services are liquid and as many have pointed out, can easily shift to more favourable tax regimes.

    Those in favour are so busy fighting for a larger slice of the pie that they don't see there won't be any pie left.
  • Christopher Spencer
    In terms of the triple bottom line, it wins....

    and as for international competitors; well , there are only 4 countries
    with a bigger economic budget than the UK (USA, Germany, Japan and
    China) in the world so we should aspire to "lead" by example.

    Ethical / future market / greenchip investors would flock towards this system, which would actually drive demand and growth ..

    It's a relatively smaller slice of a relatively bigger pie.

    A win:win situation :) xxx
  • john
    Has anybody thought how this would affect trading in Bonds? On the secondary market if the UK Government needs to borrow money just this year its 200 billion so in the markets they issue GILTS those bonds are then traded in the secondary market if investors and banks have to pay a tax of 0.05pct everytime they make a market or trade then the average interest on every transaction would be around 180 pct a day! The Government wouldnt be able to raise a bean from anyone as no one would be prepared to buy government debt and be penalised at those high marginal rates.
  • Binder Singh
    In principle it is a good idea.
    But he way it is described in the video (a badly made, cliched annoying waste of time if ever i saw one), shows what a waste if time it is.

    There is no way on Earth any government, political party or bank would do this.
    No amount of Bill Nighy videos and godawful rock music will persuade people in power otherwise.
  • George Dove
    First of all do not believe any negative comments on this site, they will have been put there by people with a vested interest in stopping this idea in it's tracks. Contact your MP and ask him/her where they stand personally on this issue, don't let them fob you off! This can work if enough people push it forward. If you can find an MP in favour get him/her to ask Gordon Brown and/or David Cameron if they will support the idea.
  • john
    I cannot see this working, lets work through an example to ilustrate why it cannot possibly work. Barclays needs to borrow 10 mio pounds for one day to cover its sterling account so goes into the interbank market and borrows it from Lloyds at say 1 pct this means it will cost Barclays 275 pounds to cover its position and earn Lloyds the same amount. But if they have to pay this tax 0.05 pct of the nominal 10mio the two banks will have to pay out 5,000 pounds each!. Therefore NO banks will be able to lend or borrow from each other the credit markets will cease up.
  • del fulk
    There needs to be tighter controls on tax!!

    Road Tax should be spent only on Roads.
    Welfare Tax spent on hospitals.


    The police are all rolling round in 2009 range rovers!!!

    i am fed up of paying tax!

    The knock on effect will be the banks putting up interest rates!

    There are far too many fat cats taking the "government tax money"
  • Sociolingo
    New Taxing Banks report. Robin Hood tax, plus six other proposals. Submitted to the IMF today. http://bit.ly/bpGZup

    Richard Murphy writes:

    "The first action demanded is the creation of financial transaction taxes. This, of course, links to the Robin Hood Tax campaign. Detailed estimates of the likely revenues to be raised are included in the report, which I authored. The issue of incidence is also considered. The result is a recommendation that such taxes be introduced in stages, starting with a currency transaction tax on foreign exchange dealing, then taxes on derivatives, options, swaps and bonds before finally rolling out a UK style stamp duty more widely. I am convinced that the first two alone would achieve significant revenues and have the additional benefit of reducing socially useless and harmful activity in the City and elsewhere whilst imposing little cost on ordinary taxpayers. Indeed, in what I call a perverse paradox, the cost will almost certainly rebound back to fall within banks and a very limited City workforce to create social benefit, just as James Tobin always predicted."
  • Sarah
    I tried to show my support and it kept rejecting me. If you have Windows Vista it may be because you have cookies disabled. I solved it by going to the Tools button, then clicking on Internet Options, then Privacy, then Sites, then adding the http://robinhoodtax.org.uk to the list of sites where I allow cookies. Then I was able to sign up and show my support - and I was the 20500th person! What a good number! I hope that information helps anyone else who is having problems signing up.
  • john
    OK so we tax an industry where their trading margins are actually 0.01pct with a tax of 0.05pct which has been confirmed by the Bank of England the IMF the World Bank etc...It appears to me then that something is not right..it is like going to a restaurant and having a meal for 50 pounds but facing an additional tax on that meal of 250 pounds so for obvious reasons the restaurants will close. In this case the Banks will just trade somewhere else. If we accept for arguments sake that the margins are 0.01 pct and we have the freedom of choice to trade anywhere in the world then surely this cannot work! Do we honestly think we can tax 250 billion pounds a year more than the entire worlds banking profits and think it wont hurt anyone?
  • Perry
    I think this is possitve action to take and I hope it works!
  • Have you thought about setting up a petition on the 10 downing street website? Enough votes means the Prime Minster must officially respond to it:
    http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/
  • Philip Gardner
    I strongly agree with the Robin Hood Tax idea, but I think it's misleading to call it a "tax on bankers" when it's a tax on financial transactions. To me this smacks of spin and reduces the credibility of the proposal.
  • Steve Davis (no not that one)
    It is interesting that George Soros is listed above as a supposed campaigner for the eradication of poverty. The man’s a frickin currency speculator whose ‘short selling’ of nation’s currencies has devastated economies and caused untold poverty, but made him several billion dollars of course. Why do Richard Curtis, Bono, Geldof etc always associate themselves with these ultra rich elites who are the very cause of the problem, and then have the temerity to lecture us lowly surfs on poverty eradication.

    You never here them talking about the role the IMF plays in creating poverty with its infandous ‘structural adjustment programmes’ which call for the privatization of former state run commodities such as water and electricity as a precondition to receiving loans. The prices of these essential commodities then skyrocket, causing terrible poverty. These same ‘conditionalities’ on receiving loans have been forced on countries as a precondition to them receiving the debt relief that Curtis and Bono have so lauded. But then perhaps it’s not surprising they fail to mention this as most of the crowd they associate with (Bliar, Wolfowitz, Sachs etc) advocate this very practice.

    Check out the following from an excellent article by John Pilger:

    The G8 communique announcing the "victory for millions" is unequivocal. Under the section headline "G8 proposals for HIPC debt cancellation", it says that debt relief will be granted to poor countries only if they are shown to be "adjusting their gross assistance flows by the amount given": in other words, their aid will be reduced by the same amount as the debt relief. So they gain nothing. Paragraph two states that "it is essential" that poor countries "boost private sector development" and ensure "the elimination of impediments to private investment, both domestic and foreign".

    By their fruit you shall know them. A quick glance at the people associated with this campaign exposes it for the farce that it is. Don’t be fooled. Please read the following:

    http://www.newstatesman.com/200506270006
  • Annie
    I've visited as I saw your billboard posters throughout Docklands, London. What a fantastic idea, and a very relevant cause. Well done to all those organisations involved - it really does make a difference when you all come together. You are brilliant.
  • Carla
    The "support" function on this web site isn't working...once one enters one's name and email address, a "submit" button, if one exists, is not accessible. Otherwise, you'd probably have about a million "supporters" by now.

    Please fix this, and I will forward the link to your site to all of my friends!
  • Damian McHugh
    I'm all for people making money, but it's about time the people of this country stood up for themselves and those less able to do so, and let the Government know that not only have the banks gone too far, so too have those entrusted with the power to rule - who clearly are happy to dip their own hands into the pockets of the hard working public. Alone we can do little, but together we can make a difference - I support the Robin Hood Tax, as a step in the right direction -- after all it's our money we are asking back to do something good with.
  • suee
    What about getting people to stand on this platform in the election ?
  • Kathleen Midgley
    At last we are asking for a realistic solution to help everyone from people who have received help from a public purse.
  • Kamil
    I am for no!
    Even though the thought looks attractive on first sight, most taxes "for poor" are counterproductive. Less socialism more free money.
    regards
  • RDStalker
  • J. Warren
    Although the tax seems insignificant, it dramatically reduces the potential for profit in many trading strategies. This will lead to a decrease in trading, and a reduction in revenue generated for the government. It ain't rocket science.

    Yes, I am sure Germany and France are in favour of it. Germany produce cars, and France... well, a lot of cheese and wine! What industry though is the most important to the British economy? The average Brit would happily do away with the finance sector altogether... they are ignorant as to its importance.

    This seems to an issue of equality as much as anything because people are obviously so incredibly jealous. For example, why impose this tax on a firm like Barclays? They received no government money, so it doesn't seem fair...

    Anyway, if the incentive for success is ultimately completely removed, I guess we will all one day be equal. We will all be poor though, and how will that help the progression of the World?

    You people seemingly have no understanding of the Laffer Curve. For example, as far as I am concerned I have had enough. With my money I used to be generous. I gave to charities and since society has provided me with the opportunity to be successful I have happily paid all tax due. But, it has gone too far. I am now much more protective of my money because who knows how much longer I will be able to earn it for?! lol... you want equality, then make the tax rates for the poor and wealthy the same! Such double standards it is ridiculous.
  • Z. Sandra Fry
    This is the best news I have heard for a long time! Many thanks to those who are doing the maths [with an "s" !]
  • dp
    Hopefully mistyping 'conference' at the start of my submission doesn't reduce its apparent credibility.
  • dp
    Here's my theory:

    At a converence, Comic Relief was going on and on and on about how great an idea it is to have "some kind of visual hook, a constant reminder of the cause" or whatever, and nobody wanted to tell Mr/Mrs. Relief the truth about their idea, so everyone reluctantly agreed and are now doing their best to make it sounds like a cool idea.

    Brilliant campaign, and I'll be supporting it vigourously, but my opinion hints that the masks are a bit silly.
  • DODE
    Sir Fred Goodwin in my opinion should have his Knighthood Withdrawn,and have to hand back the whole amount of his ludicrous pension.He is very lucky he just got his windows smashed in his house,in the old days he would have been executed and quite rightly so, people have lost their livelihoods because of him and his cronies.
  • Richard Manns
    I'd like to remind you all of the Robin Hood story...

    Robin Hood returned to his country from war to find a despotic regime taxing everyone until their pips squeaked. The Sheriff of Nottingham was a local tax collector and enforcer of the despotic state.

    Robin Hood didn't steal from the rich to give to the poor, he took back from the tax collector what the common people had been forced to pay by the State to pay for unwanted wars. The devil is in the details, folks!
  • To Maid Marion comment:
    Follow on Twitter to see this spreading to other countries. True success will come if this tax is applied on behalf of all the people who are 'we the people' ...and we are everywhere.

    The problem of banks relocating to safe havens will be eliminated if we are all agreed ...so find your parliamentary/government representative and make a start from where you are :)

    Good luck!

    Namaste,
    Tina Louise
  • Eric Paul Jacobsen
    The "Robin Hood Tax" is an excellent idea.

    I have heard of similar proposals advanced by Social Democrats (notably Oskar Lafontaine) in other European countries, but of course the high-rolling bankers and investors have always ridiculed them. Well, they're in no position to ridicule ANYBODY right now!

    I write this as a US-American who dearly wishes we had a Social-Democratic Party, or even a Labour Party, as you fortunate Brits and Canadians do.

    Keep fighting!
  • Maid Marion
    If I don't live in the UK, who can I write to please? I don't have a UK MP because I don't live in the UK.

    Hey, keep up the good work!
  • sandra sheppard
    I really want to register my support, it keeps rejecting me why?
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