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Press watch: Robin Hood tax

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‘Campaigners for a ‘Robin Hood’ tax – sometimes called a Tobin tax – on financial deals received a boost when the first in-depth study of the idea found that transaction taxes were feasible and would allow the Government to double Britain's annual aid budget,’ The Guardian reported (9 November).

‘Research by the Institute for Development Studies at Sussex University showed that a 0.005% tax on foreign exchange trades alone might raise around $26bn a year (£17.6bn) worldwide, with the UK accounting for about $11bn (£7.7bn).

'However, the study found that it would be more difficult to tax transactions in complex derivative deals and found no evidence that a Robin Hood tax would lead to lower levels of financial volatility, traditionally one of the big claims made by its supporters,’ Larry Elliott, the paper’s Economics Editor, wrote.
 

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