BIRMINGHAM: The Robin Hood Tax campaign that was launched this February in the United Kingdom is gaining momentum after it met with Members of Parliament (MPs) for a briefing. The Robin Hood Tax proposal is named after the iconic British legend, Robin Hood, who famously “stole from the rich and gave to the poor.†British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoken out in favor of the tax, which would apply to banks when making financial transactions with one another. The briefing held at parliament last week was attended by 65 British MPs and 80 more MPs sent their apologies but indicated their support. The proposal would not apply to transactions between citizens and banks and is supported by numerous aid agencies, unions, green groups and economists as well as actor Bill Nighy, who features in their promotional film. The video emphasizes the fact that the taxes would be levied at an average of 0.05% (five cents per one thousand dollars), but that even this figure would be able to raise hundreds of billions of pounds over the course of one year, which they propose should be spent on tackling “poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.†In a letter to the country’s political parties, the Robin Hood Tax campaigners wrote: “You could ignore the big problems facing the world … or you can work to find an innovative, modern, regular way of accumulating a fund of money. “We would ask you to seriously consider the Robin Hood Tax as that radical new option — a small tax on bankers that would make a huge difference to the UK, to the poorest countries and to our planet. Let's turn the crisis for the banks into an opportunity for Britain and the world.” The campaign was launched as a result of the economic crisis, the crash of the banking system and the fact that British taxpayers were forced to bail out their banks who the public overwhelmingly blame for causing the crash in the first place. The overall price of the bailout is estimated to cost £850 billion, with the British taxpayer accounting for 20-50 billion. With bonuses of up to one million British pounds paid to bankers last year, the Robin Hood Tax campaign is increasing in popularity. According to a poll on the Robin Hood Tax website, about one in ten people support the proposal. BM
