Across the globe, groups of green suited Merry Men, in the style of Robin Hood, can be found calling upon governments to instate (and in many cases, like the US, reinstate) a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT).
The Robin Hood Tax, as it’s been dubbed, is a small tax on the sale of stocks, bonds, derivatives and the like that would be two fold in its benefit: (1) Create revenue for countries, and (2) Slow the high-speed, high-risk trading that has no real social value and can make markets more volatile.
Twenty-nine countries, including Brazil, India and the UK already have an FTT and a number of other European Union countries have pledged to adopt the tax by the end of 2012.
One of Jubilee USA’s Network Council member organizations, the Institute for Policy Studies, has been a global leader in moving forward the creation of the FTT. Jubilee USA is a part of several campaigns to promote the FTT and supported letters and petitions to US and global policy makers. A letter signed by 52 financial industry professionals, including former senior executives of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, demonstrates that support for an FTT is growing. Learn more by watching this video:
Photo Courtesy: manchestermule.com
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