Tobin Taxes are simple sales taxes on
currency trades across borders. James Tobin, Ph.D.,
Nobel laureate
economist at
Yale, came with the original proposal in
1978. It's a very important proposal since the estimated $100-$300
billion per year makes it possible to fund urgent
global problems such as
global warming,
hunger, various
diseases, etc.
From the Tobin Tax Declaration:
WHEREAS over US$1.5 trillion is exchanged every day in currency markets around the world;
WHEREAS aproximately 95% of those exchanges are "speculative" as traders bet on whether currency values and interest rates will move up or down;
WHEREAS most international currency speculation is conducted with a view to earning short-term profits at the expense of long-term investment in economic and social development;
WHEREAS international currency speculation disrupts the ability of governments to establish just and equitable national economic policies;
WHEREAS the sudden outflow of large quantities of speculative capital from Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea resulted in severe economic
downturns, political instability, widespread social turmoil and human suffering;
WHEREAS excessive speculation could be curbed by a modest tax of between 0.1% and 0.25% on each currency transaction as proposed by Nobel prize-winning economist James Tobin;
WHEREAS the revenues from a Tobin tax, estimated to be worth between US$150 and US$300 billion a year, are urgently needed for genuine economic and social development and environmental protection in less developed countries;
WHEREAS the resources needed to wipe out extreme poverty, provide basic social services and mitigate environmental destruction globally are estimated at US$ 225 billion a year;
Read more at http://www.tobintax.org.