Get clued up: Financial crisis and the Robin Hood Tax
World leaders have backed the Millennium Development Goals to tackle poverty and promised to provide aid to help poor countries address climate change. These serious problems require serious solutions. But where’s the money going to come from?
We believe that we have a moral duty to help those in need. Our vision is for a world where people are able to meet their basic needs for food, water and a healthy environment, and in which we all have responsibility and concern for one another.
That’s why, along with many other groups and charities, we are calling for:
- A new and reliable source of funding for developing countries, known as the Robin Hood Tax. This tiny tax on financial transactions (FTT), an average of just 0.05 per cent, could raise an amazing $400 billion per year to help fight poverty and enable developing countries to combat climate change.
- Reform of the financial sector. A financial transactions tax would discourage the most risky and short-term speculation and instead encourage longer-term investments.
Your pressure has helped to build huge support for the Robin Hood Tax. The tax now is supported by the Pope, Bill Gates, dozens of UK MPs and four of Europe’s five biggest economies – France, Germany, Spain and Italy. However, campaigning for a Robin Hood Tax must continue, as the UK government still does not support it.
The Robin Hood Tax. Not complicated. Just brilliant. Now, it’s time to make it happen.
