[Campaignforrealdemocracy] G20 and CTT Tobin

[Mark Barrett]

In run up to G20 Pittsburgh (see below) pls sign / forward this, which
includes
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/tobintaxnow/

And thanks to everyone that already has.

*Britain stalls on new deal to rescue Africa*
*Chancellor claims fund-raising charge on all global banking transactions is
not workable*

Britain was last night accused of stalling on a deal to use banks'
multibillion-pound profits to help the world's poorest nations as new
figures show that the global recession has opened up a $70bn (£43bn) black
hole in the budgets of sub-Saharan Africa.

Chancellor Alistair Darling is accused of blocking plans for a tax on
worldwide currency transactions that could raise up to £30bn for developing
countries.

But the plan which is being pushed by the German and French governments at a
meeting of G20 leaders in Pittsburgh this week, has the sympathetic ear of
the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband. The need for a lifeboat for poor
nations was given added urgency last night when research by Oxfam revealed
that sub-Saharan African countries face a £30bn deficit this year – on top
of £12bn debts from last year, leaving a total black hole of £43bn – because
of the economic crisis.

African governments are increasingly unable to protect their citizens from
falling trade, investment and remittances, and from hunger and the impact of
climate change, Oxfam said. The charity and other anti-poverty campaigners
have joined some EU governments in pushing for a 0.005 per cent tax on
currency transactions – which it is calculated would raise between £18bn and
£30bn.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to lobby US and British
governments on the currency transaction tax (CTT) proposal – known as the
"Tobin tax" – at the G20 meeting this Thursday.

A day earlier Britain will attempt to push forward a separate scheme at the
UN General Assembly in New York to boost funding for health in Africa and
other developing regions. Gordon Brown will lead an international drive to
provide free healthcare for the world's poorest people, focusing on women
and children. But campaigners said there was a growing momentum for the CTT
to be raised at the summit.

Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, has backed the
idea of a Tobin tax, describing it as a "nice, sensible revenue source for
funding global public goods".

But the Treasury is blocking the move, arguing that it would be "unworkable"
to get all markets around the world to agree to the levy. Instead
governments should give set amounts of aid to Africa and the developing
world, Mr Darling believes. Britain has a target of 0.7 per cent of GDP for
international aid. The US is also likely to block the idea.

However, Mr Miliband has agreed with his French counterpart, Bernard
Kouchner, that a Tobin tax should be on the table in next month's
ministerial talks in Paris. A source close to the Foreign Secretary said he
had not agreed to the CTT, but told Mr Kouchner it "should not be excluded"
from the discussions.

Campaigners said one billion people across the planet are now hungry and a
promised £30bn bailout for poor countries at the G20 London meeting in April
has not been fully delivered, according to the European Network on Debt and
Development. Schools and health clinics are also at risk, they say.

The World Bank has warned that 50 million more people will be pushed into
extreme poverty this year as a result of the financial crisis, and could
reach 90 million by the end of 2010.

Writing in today's IoS, Phil Bloomer, campaigns and policy director at
Oxfam, says: "At a time of anger against the banks, this could be a rare
example of a popular tax.

"Unfortunately the understandable push to cap bankers' bonuses is in danger
of obscuring the needs of the poor. Surely if anyone is deserving of a bonus
it is those in Bolivia, Bangladesh and Burundi who are suffering as a result
of greed on Wall Street and in the City of London."

Ms Merkel said last week that the levy had support from Mr Brown and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy. But Downing Street poured cold water on the plans
and Treasury sources said: "This is not something we are actively pursuing
at the G20. If you are looking at a way to fund development, it should come
from government funds. We would be concerned that this [Tobin tax] is
unworkable because you would have to have it for all markets around the
world."

The G-Class: Who's Who

G3: A 1995 free-trade agreement between Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.
Looking for a new member after Hugo Chavez withdrew Venezuela in 2006.

G4: Comprising Brazil, Germany, India and Japan to support each other's bids
for permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

G6: Formed in 1975, an informal gathering between the finance ministers of
the US, West Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Japan.

G7: Appeared a year later when Canada joined the G6.

G8: An informal group of the heads of state and government of the G7
countries plus Russia. It meets annually to find solutions to global
problems.

G20: Established in 1999 to bring together industrialised and developing
economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. It comprises the
finance ministers and central bank governors of the G8, 11 other key
countries (including China and India) and the European Union presidency.

G77: A coalition of developing nations at the UN established in 1964.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britain-stalls-on-new-deal-to-rescue-africa-1790439.html

2009/8/27 Mark Barrett <marknbarrett at googlemail.com>:
> Hi Alison and all
>
> I've been shockingly lax in promoting the Tax Justice petition I gave into
> Number 11 last year with Parly Square Maria, but Alison's email (see
below)
> about Brown's FSA vs BOE on Tobin has prompted me to re-circulate it
before
> it's too late (it runs out in Nov).. pls support!
> We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Abolish Tax Havens,
Enact
> Tobin Tax & Reform CAP for an end to poverty world-wide.
>
> Pls read full details of proposals
> at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/tobintaxnow/
>

> 2009/8/27 Alison Banville <alisonbanville at yahoo.co.uk>
>>
>> The head of the FSA has suggested bringing in the Tobin tax and has been
>> attacked for it. (Channel 4 News today, 12pm. Might be available online
to
>> watch). See the spokesperson for the British Bankers Assoc say why it
won't
>> work.
>>
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