The Robin Hood Tax – 0.05% Bankers Tax to raise $400 Billion for the Poor

Robin Hood Tax (once before known as the Tobin Tax) is a proposed tax on bankers to the sum of o.05% that would raise an estimated $400 billion to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.

The supporters of the tax assert that if governments took a tax of 0.05% from international bankers’ transactions, it could generate hundreds of billions of pounds every year – that could stop cuts in crucial public services at home in UK, and help fight global poverty and climate change.

With current facebook fans at 70,000 members and rising and a 40:1 ratio of the general public voting yes over no to the tax on the robin hood website. This is a clear indicator of public support.

Backed by a youtube fought video campaign featuring Bill Nighy, the video will soon be viral at 200,000 views and rising. Check the video campaign below:

However, despite the wide public support, many are sceptical or downright slamming the tax as an unfeasible option that many supporters have maybe not thought about. Madsen Pirie; President of the Adam Smith Institute and author of the newly published ’101 Great Philosophers’ – suggests the following in an article:

a tiny tax that will raise big revenues of $400bn. This is indeed a substantial amount, representing more than half of the profits of the worldwide banking industry ($788bn in 2006). They also say that it will hit only the rich, since it will not affect the retail banking sector.

This fails to recognise that taxes are always passed on to the customer.

The “Robin Hood Tax” might look superficially attractive, but it would do profound damage to the world economy and, far from hitting “the rich”, it would be the world’s poor who suffered most. This could be one reason why Bank of England Governor Mervyn King described it as “bottom of the list” of options.

If campaigners want to spend charitable funds on these campaigns, they would be more effective in calling not for higher taxes, but for the end of the protectionist tariffs that prevent poorer countries from selling their goods. Madsen Pirie

What are your views on the Robin Hood Tax? Yes or No? Let us know your thoughts below!

This is an interesting debate, that is sure to flare up and hit more mainstream public media in the coming weeks. More, on the Robin Hood Tax as and when…