Send a message to MPs – no to VAT, yes to Robin Hood

Robin Hood Tax campaign

Pre-Budget action

14 June 2010

The Robin Hood Tax campaign is pushing MPs to use the Budget this month to introduce a Robin Hood Tax to help poor people at home and abroad, and tackle climate change. And the TUC and Robin Hood Tax campaign are both warning that putting up VAT instead would be a big mistake.

You can join the campaign and make a difference (see more below) by:

• helping pay for billboards at the MPs' tube station; and
• sending a message to the Chancellor, and your local MP, asking them to say no to VAT and yes to Robin Hood.

Two reports

Two reports from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) show just how bad a VAT increase would be. It would hit the poorest families and the smallest firms hardest, but would only raise £11 billion. A Robin Hood Tax, on the contrary, would raise £20 billion and would be paid mostly by those most able to pay.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The Chancellor should resist the temptation to be VATman when he presents his Budget. VAT increases don't just hit the poor more than the rich, they also hit small firms, threaten retail jobs and by boosting inflation could also lead to higher interest rates.

'There are much fairer ways to raise revenue such as a Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions and Capital Gains Tax. The only VAT changes the Chancellor should contemplate are ending the zero rates on private healthcare and education that only the rich can afford.'

Take action

The Robin Hood Tax campaign is asking people to take action in two ways:

• First, by 'crowd-sourcing' billboard advertisements at Westminster Underground Station to get the message across to MPs and their advisers (and maybe even some Treasury mandarins and lobby journalists) that 'It's a numbers game' - and Robin Hood makes more sense than the Vatman! We're after just £2 from supporters to get the message across - but you can give more.
• Second, whether you help pay for the adverts or not, you can send a message to the Chancellor and to your local MP, asking for the Emergency Budget to be focused on helping the poor at home and abroad and tackling climate change, by taxing the finance sector rather than ordinary working people.

So, go to the Robin Hood Tax campaign website and take action NOW!

We can make a difference

Within hours of the 'crowd-sourcing' web page going live on Friday, we had enough money for one billboard at Westminster, but we want to plaster the place with the same message, so keep the donations coming. Here's what you can do to get your fellow union members, friends, families and workmates involved:

• Update all your social network channels with the action and link to the action page. Ask all your supporters/friends to do the same.
• If your union has one, place a link to the action page on your website.
• Include the action and link to the action page in any newsletters or bulletins or send out an email to members, friends, family, workmates.
• Write a blog about the action and get it out online.

The e-action will run till 22 June.