Gordon Brown says support is growing for a global tax on finance

Telegraph UK ^ | 12/11/09

[FromLori]

Gordon Brown said today that there's growing support for a tax on financial transactions to ensure banks shoulder the cost of any future crisis.

The British prime minister, who on Wednesday introduced a one-time 50pc tax on bankers' bonuses, said that "global taxes will not be introduced unless all global financial centres are able to come behind them, but I believe there's global support for that."

Governments around the world are shouldering ever greater debt as the cost of rescuing the financial system and the downturn combine to drive up their borrowing. Mr Brown first mooted the idea of a global tax on financial transactions earlier this year but the idea was immediately dismissed by the US government.

Bailing out the banks has cost $5.3 trillion globally and plans for a global tax, known as a Tobin tax after an the US economist who first devised such an idea, would be aimed at paying for the cost of any future rescue. With an election less than six months away, Mr Brown is also trying to tap into public anger over the return of the era of large bonuses. In the pre-Budget report, Alistair Darling said that all bonuses over £25,000 will be hit with a 50pc tax.

Mr Sarkozy, who has said that London is one of the big losers of the financial crisis, said today that France will follow the UK in imposing a tax, though he gave no details.

“We can only tax them if we tax them both sides of the Channel,” Mr Sarkozy said. “In the decision that Gordon and I are taking together, we want and we wait for others to do the same, because we are in a globalized world.”

[FromLori]

Here’s your answer YOU after bailing out the banks which by the way we are still assessing our losses since this doesn’t include the interest

http://www.propublica.org/ion/bailout/item/bailout-breakdown-tarp-losses-likely-to-be-larger-than-treasury-estimates-1

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a_FBCEcYdwOY

obama’s favorite banker says you will pay

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/12/rest-of-jamie-dimon-regulation-story.html

[scooby321]

England and their Banks are in such good financial shape.

[GiovannaNicoletta]

...only to be ridiculed as conspiracy theories and tinfoil hat talk.

Or ridiculed as religious nuts who believe a book of fairy tales called the Bible...

[FromLori]

I have to find it but there is an article out today they risk default but then look at our banks ahaha a complete joke.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-state-of-the-banking-market-2009-12

[Moltke]

Gordon Brown must be consuming about a pound of pharmaceuticals for breakfast...this is about par for him.

The UK must really long for the day this usurper finally gets kicked out of office. I hope.