CC: fghersenti@oxfam.org.uk; shabnam.hameed@gmail.com

FTT Letter to French ambassadors

Dear Ambassador,

I am writing with regards to the impressive leadership that France has shown on the issue of a financial transaction tax (FTT) and to stress the critical need for the French government to confirm it will go towards tackling poverty at home and abroad and addressing the impact of climate change.

Following the significant progress seen under the French Presidency of the G20 last year, there has continued to be huge momentum around the FTT, due in large part to your President’s personal commitment and ambition to ensure new and innovative sources of financing are in place to face the development and climate challenges ahead.  We welcome the emphasis that President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel have placed on a European FTT and the political willingness to state that such a tax should be for financing global goods. Alongside their leadership, the call for an FTT for development and climate change has been supported by over half a million people across Europe, leading figures such as Bill Gates, members of the G20, the African Union and leaders of low income Francophone countries.

The recent announcement that France will implement a national stamp duty is a welcome step along the road to better, more rigorous regulation of the financial sector.  However we are deeply concerned about the latest developments on where the revenues from such a tax will go. The challenge now is in demonstrating French leadership on development and climate change by ensuring that President Sarkozy commits to a portion of the revenue from an FTT going to finance global goods. In order to provide global leadership on this issue, it is crucial that France takes the following measures:

Ensures a public statement is made by the President, stating the government’s intention to allocate a proportion of the national stamp duty to financing development and climate change

Amends the legislation so that a proportion of the revenues raised from the French FTT will be allocated to  development and climate change

Critically, in addition to providing strong global leadership, this action will set a precedent for future taxes on the financial sector, both across Europe and internationally. There is substantial and growing public support in X COUNTRY for an FTT that helps tackle the challenges of poverty at home and abroad and addresses the impact of climate change. We are calling on you to ensure that this message reaches President Sarkozy.

Yours Sincerely

Name:

Postal Address:

Phone Number:

Wednesday 2 November 2011, 9.30am

“Julia Gillard” – a fibreglass ‘big head’ caricature of the Prime Minister – dressed as Robin Hood and armed with a bow and arrow, will take aim at a ‘poverty’ branded target outside Parliament House in support of a global push for a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), due to be discussed at the G20 this week (3 & 4 November).

The Australian Robin Hood Tax campaign is calling for Prime Minister Gillard to support the proposal of a FTT (popularly known as a ‘Robin Hood Tax’), a tiny 0.05 per cent tax on certain financial transactions (bonds, shares, derivatives and currency) that could raise billions of dollars a year to fight poverty and climate change.

The Robin Hood Tax Campaign is calling for half of the income generated to be spent on domestic issues like health and education in countries that levy the tax, while the other half would be spent on climate change adaptation and overcoming poverty in poor countries around the world.

Oxfam Australia Director of Policy James Ensor said the issue of a FTT was gathering momentum across Europe among politicians from across the political spectrum, and had gained the support of the governments of emerging powers such as South Africa and Argentina.

Institutions as diverse as the Gates Foundation and the IMF, as well as more than 1000 economists, including Nobel Laureates like Paul Krugman, have seen the benefit of a FTT, and 500,000 ordinary people across the world recently signed a petition in support of this tax.

“The tax would not affect consumers at the ATM. It is designed to affect investment banks that deal in bonds, shares and currency transactions that occur on international markets,” Mr Ensor said.

“With developing country budgets under strain and the Green Climate Fund – the fund which nations agreed to establish to fight climate change – standing empty, the need for innovative sources of finance has never been greater.”

The stunt is organised by the Australian Robin Hood Tax campaign, part of an international movement campaigning for a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). The Australian campaign is a broad alliance of more than 20 Australian charities, aid agencies, labour, environmental and faith groups, including Jubilee, Oxfam, World Vision and Catalyst Australia, as well as leading academics, policy experts, economists and writers.

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

Parliamentarians’ Declaration for the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, PARLIAMENTARIANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, DECLARE THAT:

· We are committed to the implementation of taxes on financial transactions, such as shares, bonds, foreign exchange and derivatives, in order to raise substantial additional finance to combat poverty, climate change and health challenges and protect public services and jobs; and to improve the stability of the world’s financial system.

· In the light of the recent economic crisis caused by the financial sector and the immense costs to citizens in both the developed and developing world, it is time for the sector responsible to make a far greater contribution to help safeguard livelihoods and save lives.

· We urge Governments both in Europe, where some states such as France and Germany are already taking a lead, and in every country around the world, to take all steps necessary for an early introduction of FTTs, noting that progress by a coalition of willing states, or at the Euro-zone or EU level, is urgently required and entirely feasible.

See summary of country by country sign-ons here parliamentary declaration FTT – breakdown of country totals 31oct2011 and full list of signatories here FINAL Parliamentarian Declaration FTT.

Protests began over three weeks ago in New York’s financial district, drawing attention to the greed and corruption of America’s business and political elite. Since then, the movement has gained momentum as numerous cities across the globe have picked up the call of the Wall Street protestors. Hundreds gathered outside the Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney on Saturday 15 October, with large turnouts also in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Check out the following interesting opinion pieces on how the Occupy Wall St protests can be used to further demands for a Robin Hood Tax:

“Idea has Occupied the High Moral Ground” – The Daily Telegraph.

“The Bankers and the Revolutionaries”- New York Times.

“Don’t just occupy Wall St, tax it” – The Star.

“Transaction Tax on Financial Speculation Gets a Boost from Occupy Wall Street – Huffington Post.

We made our submission and then sent this out to all the federal parliamentarians attending the tax forum and all the state treasurers, just to make sure that they did get to hear our case. During the tax Forum the coalition was represented by Oxfam Australia’s Head of Policy, James Ensor. James posted a video blog of why Robin Hood Tax was an important consideration at the Tax Forum.

AND 169 of our supporters made submissions through our on-line cyber action, supporting financial transaction taxes as a necessary part of taxation reform in Australia.

Our campaign also attracted media attention:  Professor John Langmore’s opinion piece was published in the Conversation and James Ensor’s opinion piece was published in the Canberra Times. Kelly Dent from Oxfam was interviewed on Radio National PM program, The Australian Greens (Bob Brown) made supportive press statements covered on Nine and online business news.

During the forum itself, James Ensor and Senator Bob Brown raised financial transaction taxes in their statements during the session on social and environmental taxes. James Ensor said:

“The financial transactions tax is one key element of that which is on the agenda, particularly the G20.

It is important to emphasise that financial transactions tax is not a retail tax.  It is a tax on institutional trades of derivative financial instruments and bonds, and interestingly, International Monetary Fund was recently commissioned to look at the financial transactions tax as a mechanism to these means moving forward.  They drew four important conclusions.

Firstly, it was that the IMF judge this tax to be workable.  Secondly, they judged it to be a very efficient mechanism for generating the sort of finance that would be needed moving forward.  Thirdly, they deemed that it was going to be one of the most progressive taxation options on the table looking at these issues, and fourthly, that they felt that if pitched at the right level, this was a form of taxation which would reduce or smooth some of the excess volatility in global markets moving forward.

Interestingly, Bill Gates was recently commissioned by the G20 to do a similar analysis for them looking at mechanisms for generating new and innovative sources of capital to deal with poverty and climate-related issues, and we understand that is also very positive.  So we think there’s a significant need and international interest in this area.”

This exciting new perspective brings a glimmer of hope that President Obama could still put his support behind a FTT.

Check out the full article here: http://www.ips-dc.org/blog/obama_supported_financial_transactions_taxes_before_summers_nixed_it