The Robin Hood Tax – or Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) – is a tiny tax of about 0.05% on transactions made by banks, hedge funds and the financial sector. The tax could raise £250 billion a year globally, with some of the money being used to support council services that have been decimated by government cuts. This would be of great benefit to Stroud District. Another advantage of an FTT is that it helps reduce the number of risky financial transactions, the gambling which helped to trigger the financial crisis.
Dr Scott Cato is lead councillor of the Green Party Group on Stroud District Council. She said:
“I will be proposing a motion of support for an FTT in February. I want our council and other councils across the South West and beyond to send a clear message to the government that Robin Hood wants finance to work for the common good, not the vested interests of the few!”
The Green Party across the south west is urging people to take an easy action by writing to their local councillors asking them to pass a motion supporting the FTT. Almost 40 councils have passed such a motion with Plymouth being the first in the South West. Greens want to see other councils follow suit.
Molly Scott Cato said:
“The Green group in the European Parliament has been instrumental in pushing for a FTT. Eleven Member States including Germany, France, Italy and Spain have decided to put people before the profits of their big banks and financial speculators and introduce an FTT. The UK government on the other hand has continued to block the tax in order to protect their friends in the City.”
Click here to ask councillors to support the Robin Hood tax.