Robin Hood campaign concedes Tobin tax
Campaigners are pinning their hopes on an ‘alternative’ Robin Hood tax after David Cameron underlined the lack of support for a Tobin tax within the government.
A spokesperson for the Robin Hood campaign told politics.co.uk the financial activity tax backed by the European Commission last week could be an acceptable replacement for the ‘Robin Hood tax’ originally backed.
“We want the financial sector to pay significantly more tax and we don’t really care how we do it,” Max Lawson said.
The Robin Hood Tax campaign had been building a broad base of support for diverting 50p for every £1,000 transacted to Treasury coffers. It continues to favour this approach over other alternatives.
Actor Bill Nighy was among those offering his backing for the 0.05% rate on banks’ transactions earlier this week. “It’s an incredibly good idea in my view,” he said of the Tobin tax proposal.
“It’s not punitive in spirit. It doesn’t target any individuals – it’s institutions which would provide this money.
“It seems to me a brilliant idea – I can’t see anything wrong with it.”
Speaking in his monthly press conference, the prime minister told politics.co.uk he was reluctant to back any kind of transaction tax, however.
Mr Cameron indicated a reluctance to repeat the “leadership” Britain had demonstrated in implementing a banking levy ahead of an international agreement when it came to taxing the banks.
“I’ve always felt there is a greater risk of countries or even small groups of countries doing this together, because transactions can move very rapidly offshore,” the prime minister said.
“If this is looked at in a way which will not have that effect, then it’s obviously something… I think we’d be prepared to look at.”
Political momentum appears to be shifting towards a financial activities tax, which would see banks’ profits and the bonuses they pay their staff targeted instead.
George Osborne signalled enthusiasm for a so-called ‘fat tax’ at his first IMF meeting in Washington at the weekend, saying the tone of discussions from EU figures was “quite encouraging”.
Now Mr Lawson of the Robin Hood campaign has indicated this method of taxation would be acceptable.
“The fat tax wasn’t on the cards when we started our campaign,” he explained.
“We don’t what to get distracted arguing over the method when the principle is that poor people are helped.
“Robin Hood did not really care how the got money out of the Sheriff of Nottingham, more that it was enough and that it was directed to the poorest.”
The Robin Hood campaign believes Britain’s financial services sector could withstand £20 billion of extra taxation every year without a negative impact.
Charities like Oxfam are calling for this money to be spent on the poor – half diverted to mitigate the impact of spending cuts in Britain on the country’s poorest and half split between climate change financing and providing aid.
