The European Parliament today adopted a report advocating the EU press ahead with the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) on a unilateral basis to raise money for public goods, including development and climate change. The report was backed by MEPs from the whole political spectrum.
Elise Ford, head of Oxfam International’s EU office, said:
“The European Parliament set the world standard today by pressing ahead on an EU-wide Robin Hood Tax. This is great news. The EU alone could raise tens of billions of euros to help millions of people pushed into poverty because of bankers' greed.”
“With France chairing the G20 group this year, Europe is in an excellent position to make an FTT happen. We now urge MEPs to challenge their governments to back it. The EU summit later this month must be the place where the political weight tips in favor of an FTT in Europe.”
International development agency Oxfam, alongside a broad coalition of civil society organizations, is calling for an average tax of 0.05% on share, currency, bond and derivative deals to help tackle pressing international challenges such as poverty and climate change. Only in Europe, this tax could generate €210 billion a year, according to the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (1).
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Notes to editors
(1) Dr. Stephan Schulmeister, Austrian Institute of Economic Research (Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund/FAD), ‘Short-term Asset Trading, long-term Price Swings, and the Stabilizing Potential of a Transactions Tax’; November 2010, p.21.
(2) Recent research for Oxfam shows that 56 of the poorest countries in the world face a combined $65 billion hole in their budgets as a result of the economic crisis.
Contact information
Angela Corbalan on + 32 473 56 22 60 or angela.corbalan@oxfaminternational.org
(1) Dr. Stephan Schulmeister, Austrian Institute of Economic Research (Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund/FAD), ‘Short-term Asset Trading, long-term Price Swings, and the Stabilizing Potential of a Transactions Tax’; November 2010, p.21.
(2) Recent research for Oxfam shows that 56 of the poorest countries in the world face a combined $65 billion hole in their budgets as a result of the economic crisis.
Angela Corbalan on + 32 473 56 22 60 or angela.corbalan@oxfaminternational.org
