Campaign for 'Robin Hood tax' gets underway

A campaign for a new ’Robin Hood tax’ that would apply to financial transactions carried out by banks has been launched.

The initiative has the backing of around 50 organisations, which have written a letter to political leaders urging them to consider the idea.

It would involve imposing a levy on the transactions that are carried out between financial institutions in order to raise money that can be used to fight poverty.

However, those with large sums of private wealth would be unaffected, as the tax would not apply to banks’ dealings with consumers.

The idea has the support of charities such as Oxfam and a promotional film featuring actor Bill Nighy has been introduced to support it.

’We would ask you to seriously consider the Robin Hood Tax as [a] radical new option - a small tax on bankers that would make a huge difference,’ the letter to political leaders said.

A 50 per cent tax on individuals earning over £150,000 per year is due to be introduced in April, but John Whiting of the Chartered Institute of Taxation recently noted that many high earners will be taking steps to try and avoid the charge.ADNFCR-2318-ID-19607756-ADNFCR