60 countries to promote currency transaction tax
Cabinet ministers from a group of 60 countries said, on 1 September 2010, that they will propose an international financial transaction tax of 0.005% aimed at generating an estimated 30 billion euros to 40 billion euros annually for development aid. The proposal calls for the tax to be collected in British sterling, euros, US dollars and yen.
The group, which includes Japan and most European countries but not the US and Switzerland, said it planned to present the proposal at the United Nations Millennium Objectives summit in New York on 21 September.
After a meeting in Paris of 12 of the supporting countries, French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner said: "The tax we propose is five cents out of every 1,000 euros -- it is not much, but it is enough to launch the movement. That is equivalent to 30 billion euros a year. We could just do it at the level of the European Union but it would be better to do it globally. The Americans will be there at the UN to discuss it."
Some specifics of the tax and its implementation have yet to be ironed out, but the proposal emerged from options considered by a panel the countries appointed last year to search for the best way to generate new development aid funds. Other options considered included a financial sector activity tax, a financial services VAT, a broad financial transaction tax and a nationally collected single-currency transaction tax.
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