Bassetlaw: Council calls for Robin Hood Tax

The local authority has passed a motion calling on a levy of 0.05 per cent on speculative banking transactions that could generate up to £20billion of annual investment for the NHS and public services.

As the first council in Notts and one of the first in the country to sign up to the campaign, the chair of Bassetlaw Council, coun Sybil Fielding has now written to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for the levy to be implemented.

Councillor Alan Chambers, cabinet member for housing at the council proposed the motion, calling the Robin Hood Tax ‘justice for ordinary people’s pockets.’

He said: “We are talking about a simple, tiny tax on the banks. Just 0.05% could raise up to £20billion annually to invest in health and public services. We are seeing the cuts really starting to bite and ordinary people are suffering as a result, but I am pretty sure that the people of Bassetlaw didn’t cause the financial crisis, yet we are all paying for it. It’s about time that justice was done and the banks paid their share.”

Bassetlaw Council leader, coun Simon Greaves echoed the call for a Financial Transaction Tax and said: “We’ve had the Bedroom Tax. We have seen changes to Council Tax, penalising the vulnerable so the Robin Hood Tax is justice, if we truly are all in this together.”

“The banks can afford it. The systems are in place to collect it. It won’t affect ordinary members of the public, their bank accounts or their savings. It’s fair, it’s timely, and it’s possible.”

A Robin Hood Tax or Financial Transaction Tax could be levied on transactions like shares, bonds, foreign currency and derivatives, which could raise up to £250 billion a year internationally.

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