Robin Hood Tax

Responding to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's call for the G20 to agree a tax on financial transactions to raise funds for international development, Jeremy Hobbs, Oxfam International Excecutive

About Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) and innovative financing for development
 

Elise Ford, Head of Oxfam’s EU office, said:

Commenting on the discussion today about innovative funding for development at the MDG Summit Leading Group on Innovative Finance, Oxfam spokesperson Veronica Hernandez said:

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso promised today he would announce an extra €1 billion for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at a major UN summit in New York later this month.

A broad coalition of NGOs, political organizations and trade unions today (7 September), called on EU Finance Ministers to recognize the merits of an European-wide Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), particularly as austerity measures begin to be felt throughout the EU.

A global bank tax to help poor countries survive the economic crisis must be urgently agreed, Oxfam said today ahead of the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Busan, South Korea.

The fact that the IMF is proposing that adaptation efforts are funded by grants rather than loans is positive. But this will only work if developed countries ensure the money is there to resource this vital assistance to vulnerable countries.