Declaration

WHEREAS over US$1.5 trillion is exchanged every day in currency markets around the world;

WHEREAS approximately 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-type 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;

I / WE DECLARE THAT governments around the world should immediately establish a Tobin-type tax on speculative currency transactions and dedicate the revenues to social and economic development for less developed countries. The tax should be collected and redistributed in a fully transparent and accountable manner through the United Nations.