Time for Tobin

On I July the Belgian Parliament passed a Currency Transaction Tax into law. This is a version of the so-called ‘Tobin Tax’ designed to quell currency speculation and increase funding for international development. The Belgian Parliament has followed the lead of the Canadian Parliament, which in 1999 passed a motion calling on the Government to promote the tax internationally; and the French Parliament, which in 2001 passed a law committing France to the introduction of the tax when other European Union countries sign up to it. British Chancellor (finance minister) Gordon Brown has said he has ‘an open mind’ about it.

David Hillman Tobin Tax Network

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