Oxfam reaction to European Commission President Barroso’s statement on an EU tax on the financial sector

Responding to President José Manuel Barroso's statement ahead of European Council meeting on 23/24 June that the European Commission will press ahead with plans for a unilateral tax on the financial sector, Max Lawson, Oxfam senior policy adviser, said:

"This is a welcome sign that the European Commission is ready to put the wishes of Europe's people ahead of the vested interests of the financial sector. But it is crucial that revenue should be used to tackle poverty and climate change - not to fill just any gap in the EU budget.

"If Europe is serious about curbing casino capitalism and making the financial sector pay its fair share to society then it should not wait for the rest of the world to act. It should implement a Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions without delay."

An Oxfam report published earlier this week called on Europe to implement a unilateral Robin Hood Tax to raise €210 billion to tackle poverty and climate change. In addition, a YouGov poll for Oxfam found that more than 80 per cent of voters in Germany, France, UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy believe that banks have a responsibility to clear up the mess of the economic crisis they caused.

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> The Robin Hood Tax campaign