TSIC staff were delighted to attend a talk this morning at the Royal Society of Arts on the “Robin Hood Tax” - a campaign to enforce a 0.05% tax on the financial sector. The tax will generate a fund of the order of $200 Billion, which in turn can be redirected where it is needed in domestic services, overseas aid and the environment.
Speakers included Jeffrey Sachs, noted economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and film director Richard Curtis and actor Bill Nighy who presented a short viral film advocating the Robin Hood Tax. Sachs sketched a number of arguments in favour of the Robin Hood Tax, that were essentially pro-regulatory (the governing thought being that the financial sector is bloated and opaque and needs shrinking and de-mystifying) and pro-aid (the governing thought being the moral proposition that wealth should be distributed from the bankers to the needy). Sachs, however, did not side with the 0.05% tax rate, stating that a scholarly investigation would be needed to decide this rate.
The panel’s presentation was followed by an in-depth question and answer session. Two of the most controversial questions put to the panel were: Is the Robin Hood Tax a timely solution that can significantly address some of the major financing challenges we face? Would such a tax help to renew the social contract between banks and society?
