Published: February 13th 2010 - at 10:39 amWill Goldman Sachs debate Robin Hood tax?
Sunder Katwala has a letter in today’s Guardian offering Goldman Sachs a platform to debate the Robin Hood campaigners.
Also covered on Next Left.
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Goldman Sachs will no doubt recognise that it scored an own goal with the crude attempt to rig an online poll about the new Robin Hood tax campaign (Clicking in the votes, 12 February). The investment bank has said it is investigating the incident: no doubt the stunt may well have been unauthorised.
Yet the episode does highlight the need for those involved in international finance to engage seriously with the charities, pressure groups and churches who are campaigning for a financial transactions tax – as well as with those governments, including Britain, France and Germany, which are looking seriously at how such a tax might be practicable.
The principle is an increasingly attractive one at a time of acute fiscal pressure after a public bailout saved the financial system from the consequences of excessive risk- taking, though Dr Neil McCulloch (Letters, 12 February) identifies that important issues would need to be addressed.
The challenge for Goldman Sachs is to come out from behind the computers serving up anonymous spam votes and engage seriously on the merits of the issue. The Fabian Society would be delighted to offer Goldman Sachs a platform to debate with the Robin Hood tax campaigners on this important public policy debate.
Sunder Katwala
General secretary, Fabian Society
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Reader comments
Why Goldman Sachs? Why not someone who actually understands the proposal and who understands what is wrong with it?
Me?
Trying to bounce Goldman into a debate is disingenuous. They are quite obviously not going to be in favour of a transaction tax that damages their business. Goldman would suffer the most as they make their money from market making and profiting from the spread. However, to be against the TT would see them portrayed as being against alleviating poverty and climate change. Goldman analysts could present countless essays outlining why the proposals were misguided and no one would pay any intention as their role is to conform to being pantomime villains. You are against the TT so you are against alleviating poverty.
I am intrigued at the thought of alleviating poverty by making the poor poorer. A tax on FX trades would remove hundreds of millions from remittances to developing economies. In 2007, it was estimated that $369 billion in remittances were sent back to their home countries by economic migrants. India, Mexico and the Philippines being the largest recipients. Although a small FX transaction tax only affects each person with a minor cost. The net effect would lead to a loss of many millions if not billions to the developing world.
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