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29Th April 2012 NEWS RELEASE CARDINAL O 29th April 2012 NEWS RELEASE CARDINAL O’BRIEN BRANDS CAMERON’S OPPOSITION TO THE ROBIN HOOD TAX ‘SHAMEFUL’ The UK’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, has branded David Cameron and his government’s opposition to a tiny tax on banks and the financial sector to help combat poverty as ‘shameful’. In a letter to the Prime Minister the Cardinal outlined his support for the Robin Hood Tax campaign, which calls for the UK Government to put in place a 0.05% tax on financial transactions such as bonds, stocks and derivatives. If implemented, it could raise £20 billion annually in the UK to be spent on poverty alleviation at home and overseas, and support communities affected by climate change. The Cardinal highlighted that thousands of SCIAF supporters across Scotland have signed up to the campaign, adding their voices to a widespread movement across Scotland, the UK and internationally, amid growing political support for such a tax. Cardinal O’Brien said: “At this difficult economic time more needs to be done to help the poor, both at home and abroad, as they are the ones hit the hardest by the fall-out of the global financial crisis. The banks and financial sector, which caused the problem, have a clear responsibility to pay their fair share. It is shameful that David Cameron is currently protecting his wealthy friends in the City by his opposition to this simple, fair and sustainable financial transactions tax.” In his letter to David Cameron (full text below) Cardinal O’Brien said: “The economy must be judged by what it achieves for the common good. The banks and financial corporations have brought our country to its knees in recent years. This is clearly an opportunity for them to show that they are serious about being a source for social good moving forward. “From the perspective of the Church, and in the eyes of the public I’m sure, it is not acceptable for your Government to protect the very wealthiest people in our country at the expense of the poor, as appears the case with your current opposition to the Robin Hood Tax. SCIAF’s Campaigns Officer Lexi Barnett, said: “Cardinal O’Brien is joining a growing movement of high profile figures calling for a Robin Hood Tax to be put in place both in the UK and internationally. More than 1,000 leading economists support the campaign, including Nobel Prize winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, Bill Gates, Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as well as the European Commission, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, South Africa, and millions of people worldwide. “David Cameron and his Government should do what is right. They should change their policy and implement the Robin Hood Tax immediately so that the banks and financial institutions start paying their fair share to help those hit hardest by this crisis, both at home and around the world.” Media enquiries and interview bids to: Val Morgan on 0141 354 5555 / 07914 408 589 / [email protected] Notes to Editors SCIAF is Scotland’s leading international aid and development agency. We work in over 16 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America responding to humanitarian disasters and providing some of the world’s poorest people with practical support so that they can work their way out of poverty and towards a better life. Here in Scotland we campaign to address the root causes of poverty and injustice so that we can create a fairer world for all people. SCIAF is a registered Scottish charity, no: SC012302. (Text of Cardinal Keith O’Brien letter sent to David Cameron on 26th April 2012) Rt Hon David Cameron Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA 26th April 2012 Dear Prime Minister, I am writing to you today to ask you to put in place a small financial transactions tax, also known as the Robin Hood Tax. At a time of great pressure on public finances, this simple, fair and sustainable tax could help the UK to tackle poverty at home and overseas, and provide urgent additional funds to assist communities in developing countries to adapt to the onset of climate change. As Chair of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) which works directly with people living in poverty in developing countries and those already severely affected by climate change, I must raise my deep concern with you. More needs to be done to help those in need to overcome the severe and life-threatening challenges they face. Introducing a financial transactions tax of just 0.05 per cent on high end products such as derivatives and hedge fund trades, as advocated by the Robin Hood Tax campaign, could raise up to £20 billion in additional income in the UK alone. Much of this could support domestic social priorities but at least 50 per cent could be spent on tackling global poverty and climate change. The economy must be judged by what it achieves for the common good of all our people. The banks and financial corporations have brought our country to its knees in recent years. This is clearly an opportunity for them to show that they are serious about being a source for social good moving forward. From the perspective of the Church, and in the eyes of the public I’m sure, it is not acceptable for your Government to protect the very wealthiest people in our country at the expense of the poor, as appears the case with your current opposition to the Robin Hood Tax. As you will know, there are credible, growing and widespread calls for this ‘tiny tax’ to be implemented in the UK and more widely. Thousands of SCIAF campaigners have taken action to call on the UK Government to put in place this tax. A recent survey in Scotland highlighted that 62% of the Scottish public would welcome a Robin Hood Tax. Support in the wider world includes the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Cardinal Peter Turkson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, together with more than a thousand leading economists, Bill Gates, as well as governments including France, Germany and Brazil. A recent International Monetary Fund report on the viability of a financial transactions tax also stated that it could be adopted unilaterally and would not necessarily have a detrimental impact on domestic business interests. Under your leadership the coalition government should be commended for its progressive position on international development, for its climate change mitigation targets at home and for championing greater ambition on climate change within the international community. I would encourage you to continue in this positive vein. I call on you to put in place a Robin Hood Tax immediately, so that the UK can meet its obligation to the poor as a matter of urgency at this difficult economic time. I look forward to receiving your thoughts on this matter and would welcome an opportunity to discuss this with you further. Yours sincerely, + Keith Patrick Cardinal O’Brien Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Chair of SCIAF.
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