Financial Transaction Tax - NZ must follow lead of Germany and France
Friday 19 August 2011, 9:57AM
By Tax Justice
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In the wake of the ongoing financial crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are prioritising the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in Europe (see 'Sarkozy, Merkel push new tax', http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/sarkozy-merkel-push-new-tax-1.1119551, 17 August 2011).
“New Zealand needs to get up to speed with the international debate about Financial Transaction Taxes,” says Vaughan Gunson, Tax Justice campaign coordinator.
“FTTs are the best mechanism for forcing financial speculators to pay tax, we need to be looking at them seriously for our financial markets.”
Mr Gunson says it’s criminal that super-rich speculators are getting away with paying no tax on their profits, while ordinary Kiwis are paying 15% GST on their food.
Tax Justice has produced a Fact Sheet on Financial Transactions Taxes and their feasibility for New Zealand (see attached). Or go to http://www.nogstonfood.org/2011/08/18/the-case-for-financial-transaction-taxes-in-new-zealand-a-fact-sheet/
On Tuesday this week, Tax Justice presented 40,000 signatures to Parliament calling for GST to be removed from food and a tax placed on financial speculation. The petition was received by MPs from Labour, Greens, Mana, and the Maori Party.
The latest Tax Justice cartoon, “Chopping down the speculators”, was inspired by Hone Harawira and Mana’s branding of a FTT as the “Hone Heke Tax”.