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date: 12 March 2010

embargo: For immediate release

German and British unions say European Robin Hood Tax could raise ?100 billion a year

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber and his opposite number in Germany, DGB President Michael Sommer have today (Friday) written to Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel calling on them to propose a European tax on financial transactions when they attend the European Council meeting in Brussels later this month.

The union organisations say the introduction of a Robin Hood Tax would help repair the damage caused by the economic crisis, protect public services, fight global poverty and help foot the bill for climate change.

The TUC/DGB letter says that ?100 billion could be raised by taxing financial transactions across the European Union.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel have led the world in their call for a global financial transactions tax, but this is also a European crisis, and we need action at a European level too.

'British and German unions want to protect public services from cuts, tackle climate change and fight poverty both at home and abroad. Now the Prime Minister and the German Chancellor, together with other supporters of a financial transactions tax like Nicholas Sarkozy, need to show the same courage here in Europe that they have on the world stage.

'Europe's citizens who are joining the campaign for a Robin Hood Tax will want to know which it is going to be - business as usual for the banks, and swingeing cuts to public services, or a small change to banking taxes that could make a real difference to everyone else?'

Earlier this week MEPs in the European Parliament voted in favour (536 to 80) of a resolution calling on the Commission to look in more detail at the introduction of a financial transactions tax. The European Trade Union Confederation (of which the TUC and the DGB are the two biggest affiliates) has also agreed to support the call for a European-level financial transactions tax.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The text of the letter appears below:

Dear Prime Minister Brown and Chancellor Merkel

Financial transactions tax: the Robin Hood Tax

On behalf of the trade union movements and working people of Germany and Great Britain, we salute the lead you have both taken in promoting a global Financial Transactions Tax. We now urge you to go further, and propose at the next European Council in March a concrete roadmap for the implementation of a European Financial Transactions Tax.

Europe is still affected by the financial and economic crisis. European citizens are looking for answers to build a next-generation architecture for the financial world - on national, European and international levels. The taxation of financial transactions could be a central pillar for a sustainable future financial world.

The exploding financial markets of the past years with their increasingly complex products were one cause of the current crisis. With a Financial Transactions Tax short-term financial transactions would be made more expensive, contributing to a stabilisation of share prices, raw material prices and exchange rates. Speculative trading would be diminished, with short-term investors paying more tax due to their higher transaction frequency. Long-term investors not reselling their stocks within days - or even minutes - would not be affected.

Furthermore, significant tax revenue could be generated to protect public services, address poverty at home and abroad, and tackle climate change. A tax on financial transactions in Europe could provide over ?100 billion a year. Revenues would however be very unevenly distributed between EU Member States - just taking into account the locations of stock markets. The two markets, Frankfurt and London, account for 99% of all EU trading turnover, even though sellers and purchasers are by no means solely citizens of Germany and Great Britain.

The German campaign - the Tax Against Poverty - started 17 October 2009 with an open letter to the German government, asking for the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax. The open letter has so far been signed by more than 50 German organisations. The campaign unites bishops and bankers, trade unionists and developmental activists, Attac and academics and many more. Besides the open letter a Petition to the German parliament was started. In just three weeks, the Petition was signed by more than 66,000 citizens. This proves that our request for a Financial Transaction Tax is backed up by popular mandate.

The British campaign - the Robin Hood Tax - was launched on 10 February 2010 with support from a broad range of more than 50 British organisations - trade unions, development and climate campaigners, churches and others, including economists and financial experts. Opinion polling for the Robin Hood Tax campaign shows overwhelming support for a Financial Transactions Tax.

Support for a Financial Transactions Tax is growing around the world, but there is no certainty that a global deal will be reached. We believe that a European Financial Transactions Tax could show leadership to the world. There is no question that the EU - as an independent economic entity - would be in a position to introduce such a tax without any problems or hiccups in trade with the USA.The bank levy discussed by the G7 Finance Ministers in Canada last month, is no alternative for a FTT, it would only pay for the costs of bailing out the banks, leaving the rest of the economic damage done by the crisis unremedied. Only a FTT puts a dampener on speculation; only a FTT makes financial markets transparent; and only a FTT brings permanent revenue. We urge you to go further and to initiate a European Financial Transactions Tax.

Brendan Barber and Michael Sommer

- The Brussels summit on 26 March will be looking at what Europe needs to do to create new jobs and avoid a double-dip recession.

- The DGB (the Confederation of German Trade Unions) is the umbrella organisation for trade unions in Germany. It consists of eight member unions with six million members.

- You can follow the Robin Hood Tax campaign at www.robinhoodtax.org.uk or on Twitter @robinhood

- Media materials - including the film and campaign creatives are available to download http://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk/media

- There are 94 organisations supporting the Robin Hood Tax Campaign including ActionAid, Barnardo's, Cafod, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, Disability Alliance, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, nef (the new economics foundation), Oxfam GB, RSPB, The Salvation Army, Save the Children UK, Stamp Out Poverty, Stop AIDS Campaign, Tearfund, Trades Union Congress and seventeen trade unions, UNA-UK, Unicef UK, YWCA, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk

Press release (1,200 words) issued 12 Mar 2010