Faith based leaders add their backing to Robin Hood Tax
The faith based community is joining the growing global movement for Financial Transaction Taxes (aka Robin Hood Tax). They can see both the value in sharing global wealth more equitably and slowing down speculative markets.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote an open letter published in the Guardian on 14 October, challenging G20 leaders to ensure that commitments to global poverty reduction are met despite the financial challenges in Europe:
“In Cannes the G20 has a chance to show it can assume the mantle of global economic leadership in these difficult times. Backing a financial transaction tax to help the world’s poorest would show our leaders are ready to rise to the challenge.”
Official Vatican body, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a statement in the lead-up to the G20 Leaders Summit endorses financial transaction taxes as a means to regulate and put limits on the ’shadow’ market of speculation. This would enable greater functioning of markets for the common good:
“…The primacy of the spiritual and of ethics needs to be restored and, with them, the primacy of politics – which is responsible for the common good – over the economy and finance. These latter need to be brought back within the boundaries of their real vocation and function, including their social function, in consideration of their obvious responsibilities to society, in order to nourish markets and financial institutions which are really at the service of the person, which are capable of responding to the needs of the common good and universal brotherhood, and which transcend all forms of economist stagnation and performative mercantilism.”
“…Such [financial transaction] taxation would be very useful in promoting global development and sustainability according to the principles of social justice and solidarity. It could also contribute to the creation of a world reserve fund to support the economies of the countries hit by crisis as well as the recovery of their monetary and financial system. “
photo: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
