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talkpoliticsWell, for anyone living across the pond, you may not have noticed, but lemme tell you something -
David Cameron has stuck two fingers up to the EU and told them that he will not agree to Britain entering into any agreement involving a tax on financial transactions.
Now, he did this ( he says) " because this tax would raise billions of pounds to be used to fund the Euro" - and as Britain is not in the Euro, this is most unfair that London Stock Exchange would be paying the most , well , more than France and Germany anyway. The Financial Transaction Tax is "not in the National Interest2 he claims.
But, hang on - this Financial Transaction Tax - isn't it just the Tobin Tax under another name?
I mean , how is the Tobin tax gonna raise any significant sum for anything ? The whole point of a 'tax on sin', any punitive tax in fac, is that it stops people doing the bad stuff to avoid paying . Ergo, it does not raise vast sums of money.
OTOH, by billing this as a Euro fundraiser, Cameron can keep his chums happy and tell Brits that he is standing up for us all. Somehow , i don't think so.
The financial sector contributes to 11% of the UK GDP, and in the glory days of 2002 to 2008, it paid £193 billion in tax to the treasury.
However, the UK tax payer has bailed out the banking boys with a bailout that comes to £289 billion so far! So, it is not like we need them that much.
Rather than seeing the government give the bankers who wrecked our economy another 'shot in the arm , i would like to see them get a governmental knee in the groin. Being forced to pay up every time they do a bit of casino style speculating on a poor little third world country's currency might actually make them desist from this vile trade.
But the UK newspapers are being very coy about the terms and conditions. is Europe trying to use the Tobin Tax to some other purpose, or are the Tories just being as underhanded as usual, I wonder? Answers on a postcard, or relevant comments, are always welcome.
David Cameron has stuck two fingers up to the EU and told them that he will not agree to Britain entering into any agreement involving a tax on financial transactions.
Now, he did this ( he says) " because this tax would raise billions of pounds to be used to fund the Euro" - and as Britain is not in the Euro, this is most unfair that London Stock Exchange would be paying the most , well , more than France and Germany anyway. The Financial Transaction Tax is "not in the National Interest2 he claims.
But, hang on - this Financial Transaction Tax - isn't it just the Tobin Tax under another name?
I mean , how is the Tobin tax gonna raise any significant sum for anything ? The whole point of a 'tax on sin', any punitive tax in fac, is that it stops people doing the bad stuff to avoid paying . Ergo, it does not raise vast sums of money.
OTOH, by billing this as a Euro fundraiser, Cameron can keep his chums happy and tell Brits that he is standing up for us all. Somehow , i don't think so.
The financial sector contributes to 11% of the UK GDP, and in the glory days of 2002 to 2008, it paid £193 billion in tax to the treasury.
However, the UK tax payer has bailed out the banking boys with a bailout that comes to £289 billion so far! So, it is not like we need them that much.
Rather than seeing the government give the bankers who wrecked our economy another 'shot in the arm , i would like to see them get a governmental knee in the groin. Being forced to pay up every time they do a bit of casino style speculating on a poor little third world country's currency might actually make them desist from this vile trade.
But the UK newspapers are being very coy about the terms and conditions. is Europe trying to use the Tobin Tax to some other purpose, or are the Tories just being as underhanded as usual, I wonder? Answers on a postcard, or relevant comments, are always welcome.
(no subject)
Date: 17/12/11 01:51 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/12/11 23:50 (UTC)Cameron tells us he did it for us, I think he did it for his buddies - but either way, the euro is toast- even if French and German money props it up. It cannot go on indefinitely.
Britain alone may go further than Britain shackled to the Euro.
(no subject)
Date: 17/12/11 23:55 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/12/11 10:32 (UTC)I think that in the matter, Cameron has less power than the Queen of England.
(no subject)
Date: 17/12/11 23:54 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 18/12/11 00:05 (UTC)