Robin Hood Tax debate: Watch it here!

On Tuesday 29 March, St Paul’s Cathedral hosted a debate entitled ‘Should we Bank on the Robin Hood Tax?’

Jointly organised by CAFOD, Tearfund, The Salvation Army and St Paul’s Institute, the debate focused on the extent to which the financial sector has a moral role to play in contributing to the common good.

Dragons’ Den host and Today programme presenter Evan Davis expertly chaired the discussion, which proved to be a lively one!

A fund to fight poverty and climate change

Baroness Shirley Williams and Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Accountants in England and Wales, Michael Izza, both argued for a tax.

Baroness Williams, a long term advocate for the Robin Hood Tax, stridently led calls for the tax of 0.05 per cent on all financial transactions (£5 in every £100,000), suggesting the funds should be used to fight poverty and climate change.

Mr Izza, the chair of a group researching the viability of a global financial transaction tax, said that in his view the tax is both feasible and desirable, and should in fact go one step further, taxing foreign exchange transactions as well.

Greater reform of the financial sector is needed

Opposing the Robin Hood Tax were economist Michael Green and the former Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Peter Selby.

Michael Green said he is “deeply disturbed” by the Robin Hood Tax and believes that government regulation, in the form of tax, takes the responsibility away from individuals to be good stewards of our planet and society.

Rt Revd Peter Selby, who thought that the tax would only obscure the greater need for structural reform of our financial system, stated “I’m not in favour of using taxation as a way of making something [the financial sector] which isn’t right, alright”.

Hundreds of supporters attended the event, sitting alongside City employees, MPs and faith leaders.

Christina Kelling, CAFOD’s Robin Hood Tax event manager, stated, “This event was a great opportunity to have a genuine debate about the role of our financial institutions and the need for them to contribute to the common good. The Robin Hood tax, whilst not the silver bullet, is one step forward on the long road to financial sector reform."

If you missed it, you can view the full debate online or a five-minute summary on our website.

Find out more about the Robin Hood Tax and sign up to support the campaign on our dedicated pages.