Chancellor has wasted taxpayers’ money to defend City fat cats

Responding to the European Court of Justice decision to reject the UK government’s challenge to the European financial transactions tax (FTT) today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“The Chancellor should never have taken this case and used taxpayers’ money to defend City fat cats. It’s time the financial sector paid its fair share of the costs of the economic crisis they helped cause.

“A Robin Hood Tax would rebalance the economy away from thinly disguised gambling with our pensions, and provide the tax revenue needed to defend quality public services like health and education, as well as tackling climate change and global poverty.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The TUC is part of the Robin Hood Tax campaign along with over a hundred unions, NGOs, environment and anti-poverty groups like Oxfam, Greenpeace and Barnardo's.
- Next week eleven European Union member states are expected to agree a European financial transactions tax at the ECOFIN meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.
- Nearly 50 local authorities across Great Britain - including Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester - have backed a Robin Hood Tax, with support from Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru and SNP Councillors.

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson   T: 020 7467 1337    M: 07900 910624     E: egibson@tuc.org.uk