WHO SUPPORTS A ROBIN HOOD TAX? A Robin Hood Tax, or Financial Transaction Tax, is a tiny tax on the financial sector that could generate billions of pounds annually to fight poverty and climate change at home and abroad. Small change for the banks - big change for those hit hardest by the financial crisis. Since launching in February 2010, the Robin Hood Tax Campaign has turned into a global movement with campaigns in 21 countries representing 220 million people. The tax has also had the backing of several Nobel Laureates and important international figures, including 1,000 economists, leading businesspeople, key religious voices and world leaders. But don’t take our word for it - here’s what they have to say. www.robinhoodtax.org.uk

1,000 ECONOMISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING:

The financial sector polluted the global economy with toxic assets and now they ought to clean it out. economist and Nobel Laureate

And then there’s the idea of taxing financial transactions, which have exploded in recent decades. The economic value of all this trading is dubious at best. In fact, there’s considerable evidence suggesting that too much trading is going on… But wouldn’t such a tax hurt economic growth? As I said, the evidence suggests not – if anything, it suggests that to the extent that taxing financial transactions reduces the volume of wheeling and dealing, that would be a good thing. economist and Nobel Laureate

The Financial Transactions Tax is a solid idea that has been resisted by Wall Street for years. economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

The beauty of a is that it would discourage short-term speculation without having much adverse effect on long-term international investment decisions. Moreover, it is undeniable that such a tax would raise a great deal of money. Revenue estimates for a small tax on international currency transactions run into hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Dani Rodrik Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University.

If you want to stop excessive pay in a swollen financial sector you have to reduce the size of that sector or apply special taxes to its pre-remuneration profit. Adair Turner Chairman of Britain’s Authority

We have a historic opportunity to correct one of the major distortions to the U.S. economy if we move now. There is no way to reverse the growth in inequality over the last three decades without attacking the elite Wall Street crowd. Those folks who back away from this task simply are not serious about addressing inequality. They have our money. It’s that simple. Dean Baker Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research Specifically, we suggest that Congress…tax the U.S. financial services industry to raise an additional $150 billion a year. Center for American Progress economists

This levy on financial transactions, even at the very low level that is currently proposed (0.05%), is expected to slow down the most speculative elements of international capital flows and raise the significant sums needed to provide the newly required global collective goods – especially green technologies and development aid…Thirty, 50 years on, our children and grandchildren may be wondering how we ever thought to run the world without such tax – just as few of us can imagine how our grandparents and great-grandparents used to manage without the income tax. Ha-Joon Chang Reader in Economics at the University of Cambridge

A Financial Transaction Tax is a win-win proposal, through which many would gain and very few would lose. It would show that governments can design and adopt rational solutions that favour their citizens, now and in the future. If the financial sector supports such a proposal, it will improve significantly its rather battered image, given the harm it is seen to have caused. An international transactions tax could help restore the trust in markets and governments, now undermined by the global crisis. But above all, it is economically and morally the right thing to do: the international financial transactions tax is clearly an idea whose time has come. Stephany Griffiths-Jones Financial Markets Director, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University

Bigger banks pose more system risk, mega-banks pose the most risk, and all bubbles can quickly go bad in the presence of such gigantic institutions. They must face appropriately higher taxes – in fact, so high that the biggest voluntarily break-up in anticipation. Simon Johnson economist and former Chief Economist of the IMF

Financial transaction taxes, appropriately designed, can not only raise substantial revenue but also enhance stability by discouraging destabilising trading that serves little economic purpose. Sony Kapoor economist and Managing Director of the think tank Re-Define

It’s not only poetic justice – it’s good economics and has great political appeal. Lawrence Mishel President of the Economic Policy Institute

In truth, this tax is more feasible than many would have us think, and like all taxes can be set well or badly and if set well, could bring several benefits… The principal victim of transaction taxes are those engaged in very high frequency trading, as opposed to traditional pension funds, insurance companies and individual investors who turn over their portfolios less frequently... If a transaction tax limits high frequency trading it may even provide a bonus in improving systemic resilience. Avinash Persaud Chairman of Intelligence Capital Limited

BUSINESS LEADERS

It is very plausible that certain kinds of FTTs [Financial Transaction Taxes] could work. I am lending some credibility to that. This money could be well spent and make a difference. Chairman of Microsoft

In a position paper published by the Aspen Institute, the group put forth several recommendations to encourage long- term focus among investors, including the proposal to “revise capital gains tax provisions or implement an excise tax in ways that are designed to discourage excessive trading and encourage longer-term share ownership.” and other business leaders

The globalization of financial markets has given financial capital an unfair advantage over other sources of taxation. A tax on financial transactions would redress the balance. Soros Fund Management and Open Society Institute

I love it. The financial institutions that control 75 percent of all are tax free. Pension funds are tax free. Mutual funds are about half tax-deferred, but the other half is run by managers who pay no attention to taxes. So we’ve got these two giant industries basically operating without any frictional costs when they trade stocks back and forth… and that helps explain why we’ve had this orgy of speculation. No question about that. So I like the idea of a transaction cost. John Bogle founder of the Vanguard Group We need to figure out a way to revert the and Markets, and the instruments created from these equities, back to their original purpose, a place to raise capital for growing business… The simplest way to change this is to place a very simple per share tax on every transaction… The market thrived when spreads and transaction costs were much higher just a few short years ago. It will survive now. Mark Cuban U.S. business magnate

OPINION AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS

In spite of their promises, wealthy countries are unlikely to provide adequate and predictable multi-year funding for the Green Climate Fund from their national budgets. This is why I support innovative financing solutions, such as a fair maritime bunker , a levy on airline tickets, or the Financial Transaction Tax. Kofi Annan former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Laureate

As a result of the financial crisis there are suggestions there’s no money to fight climate change, there’s talk about cuts to schools and there’s concern where the money will come from to meet the Millennium Development goals. There is money in the banking system. There has been a huge expansion in banking activities. And yet we may all have to pay more VAT on everything we buy … what we are trying to create is an instinctive link between fixing banks and the huge challenges facing people on this planet. Do we drop promises on child poverty or do we tax the British public? Or do we work with banks to find a solution? Richard Curtis British film writer and director

We need policy changes, we need a tax on carbon and we need a tax on global transactions. Al Gore former U.S. Vice President and Nobel Laureate

This is a change moment, a time to remake the world’s financial systems. When creditors become predators, it’s time for a new global economic agenda. We must democratize capital, and globalize participation. The freedom struggle was not just for freedom; it was a prerequisite to equality and justice. Now is our time to pass a “Robin Hood” tax on financial speculation. Jesse Jackson Baptist Minister and African-American civil rights activist

Your initiative to tax Wall Street. It’s so necessary… it has to happen. Michael Moore American filmmaker and activist

A good start would be a tax on financial speculation... It has the potential to curb risky speculative trading that contributes little real economic value. Ralph Nader American author and consumer advocate

The Robin Hood Tax is not simply a good idea because it allows the banks an opportunity to atone for their recklessness….it offers an alternative to making the British public pay, whether through VAT increases, cuts in health services and schools, libraries closing or severe cuts in the World Service. Bill Nighy British actor

Less high-frequency trading could mean that overshoots and undershoots in markets would become less extreme, in that the new hegemony of the machines in stock markets seems to have been associated with a sharp increase in the volatility of markets (the extreme case being Wall Street’s notorious flash crash). If that’s so, then a financial transaction tax would actually increase the efficiency of the allocation of capital: it would improve the functioning of capitalism, rather than undermining it. Robert Peston BBC Business Editor

Taxation measures on financial transactions... would be very useful in promoting global development and sustainability according to the principles of social justice and solidarity. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

A global Robin Hood tax on financial transactions could raise as much as $400bn for good causes. But failure to reach global agreement should not be used as an excuse for inaction; instead willing countries should press ahead with their own tax. Critics should not pretend this cannot be done – a number of countries, including the UK, US and Brazil, already have financial transaction taxes … Backing a financial transaction tax to help the world’s poorest would show our leaders are ready to rise to the challenge. Desmond Tutu retired Anglican Bishop and Nobel Laureate The objections made by some [to the financial transaction tax]... seem to rest on exaggerated and sharply challenged projections – and, more important, ignore the potential of such a tax to stabilise currency markets in a way to boost rather than damage the real economy. Archbishop of Canterbury

POLITICAL LEADERS

It’s a question of fairness... It is time for the financial sector to make a contribution back to society. José Manuel Barroso President of the

We strongly support other non-carbon related sources, such as a financial transaction tax. Pravin Gordhan Finance Minister of South Africa, and François Baroin Finance Minister of France.

Finland will push for a global financial transaction tax Jyrki Katainen Prime Minister of Finland

I persist in thinking we should explore this idea and examine how realistic and how feasible it is and do this on an international basis. Christine Lagarde Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

We all agree that a financial transaction tax would be the right signal to show that we have understood that financial markets have to contribute their share to the recovery of economies. Chancellor of Germany

We are open to supporting this initiative [the financial transaction tax] at the EU level. Mario Monti Prime Minister of Italy

I believe the transaction tax still has a great deal of merit… [It would have] really minimal impact on the transaction, but a tremendous impact on helping us meet our needs. Nancy Pelosi Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives

I’m in favour of the tax on financial transactions. Mariano Rajoy Prime Minister of Spain

At a time when states are making remarkable efforts to restore their public finances... how can the financial sector triumphantly continue to march, indifferent to the world around it, carelessly and without a care for the disorder it has more than its share in causing. President of France

The markets are a bit too preoccupied with themselves these days rather than supporting the real economy... That’s why I’m fighting with such determination for a financial transaction tax. It might not be able to stop the ludicrous developments in financial markets but it would at least brake them a bit. Wolfgang Schaeuble Finance Minister of Germany

At a ministerial meeting in Washington, the Finance Ministers stated that they “supported strongly the rapid adoption of the financial transaction tax (FTT) proposal … Such a tax should cover the widest possible range of transactions (shares, bonds, loans, derivatives and currencies). Ministers urged all countries, especially members, to adopt such taxes or broaden the scope of their existing financial transaction taxes as soon as possible.” Finance Ministers of Low-Income Francophone countries

In the UK, the Robin Hood Tax Campaign is supported by 117 organisations including Oxfam, Barnardo’s, the Salvation Army and Greenpeace.