02.11.11
Archbishop backs banking tax
The Archbishop of Canterbury has backed a new tax on banking, as campaigners continue to camp outside St Paul’s cathedral as part of the Occupy London protest against financial inequality.
In an article in today’s Financial Times, Rowan Williams wrote that the protest had drawn “an unexpectedly large number of people” with “a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment that shows no sign of diminishing”.
He continued: “There is still a powerful sense around – fair or not – of a whole society paying for the errors and irresponsibility of bankers; of impatience with a return to ‘business as usual’ – represented by still-soaring bonuses and little visible change in banking practices.
“Many people are frustrated beyond measure at what they see as the disastrous effects of global capitalism; but it isn’t easy to say what we should do differently. It is time we tried to be more specific.”
Williams specifically supports the proposal of a ‘Robin Hood tax’: a 0.05% tax to be levied on share, bond and currency transactions and their derivatives, with the resulting funds being designated for investment in the ‘real’ economy.
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