Press Responses - March 25, 1999

PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 99.03.25
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: Business
PAGE: F3
COLUMN: Business Briefs
SOURCE: CP; DJ
DATELINE: OTTAWA

New tax has support

MPs from all parties - including Finance Minister Paul Martin - have supported introduction of a new tax on all transactions in international financial markets. The small tax, first advocated by Nobel-winning U.S. economist James Tobin, would be applied to every international financial-market transaction to slow down such things as currency speculation and capital flight from weak economies. The Commons voted Tuesday 164-83 in a support of a motion by New Democrat Lorne <Nystrom> that Ottawa should enact the Tobin tax in concert with the international community. <Nystrom> said yesterday the next step is for the finance minister to get the tax on the agenda at international forums.