The global context
What else needs to happen?
A Robin Hood Tax would be a huge step in the right direction. But much more needs to be done to reform banks and finance to make sure that they never do so much damage again and serve the interests of the rest of us, both in the UK and internationally.
This means measures to make the markets more stable, as well as ones – like the Robin Hood Tax – that generate money to bring about social change and tackle climate change.
More also needs to be done to ensure that developing countries can make the most of their own resources. Taxes collected directly by governments in developing countries provide the most sustainable and accountable way to fund development and fight poverty.
Is there international support?
A full Robin Hood tax requires co-ordinated implementation by the G20 countries, or at least the G8, though individual countries – or groups of countries like the EU – also have the scope to introduce their own transaction taxes.
The massive bailout of the banking sector shows that powerful countries can act in unison. And the financial crisis and recession are global issues that demand action on a global level.
This is already happening. The leaders of Europe’s three biggest economies – Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown – are already promoting a financial transaction tax as a way to fulfil commitments to domestic budgets, climate change and international development.
And there is a growing movement in the US to introduce a financial transaction tax. Economists such as Jeffrey Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz and Dean Baker support the proposal. House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is also in support.
The Robin Hood Tax campaign is working with like-minded groups throughout the world to press for both international agreement and unilateral action by countries to extend their own transaction taxes – top-down and bottom-up.
There’s more detail on some of these issues in our FAQ.
