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Declaration


Tobin Tax Declaration

CITIZEN'S DECLARATION ON THE TOBIN-TYPE TAX


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.

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The Halifax Initiative

The Halifax Initiative is a Canadian coalition of development, environment, faith-based, human rights and labour groups.

Our goal is to fundamentally transform the international financial system and its institutions, namely the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and export credit agencies.

By doing so, we hope to achieve poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and the full realization of human rights.

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