"From the social movements, it
isn't that there haven't been concrete proposals. There
have been for the last two years. I myself spoke with
Soros, who I asked to circulate a proposal, but he said
it wouldn't have much luck… There is ferocious
opposition on the part of the bankers and the political
will not to approve it. Our job is to mobilise, targeting
the EU so that the lawmakers pass the legislation to
apply the Tobin Tax, as France has done.
And I wonder: if (in Davos) they agree with applying
the Tobin Tax, then why hasn't it been applied? Why
don't they draw up a formal petition for immediate implementation?
As far as other proposals to be conceived, like reducing
subsidies, or new taxes on – for example –
exporting weapons, there is no reason they should be
mutually exclusive.
Bernard Cassen is the Honorary President of Attac
France, and he is also journalist and general editor
of Le Monde Diplomatique.
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"George Soros has
said publicly in a press conference here that he is
in favour of the Tobin Tax, in principle. Everybody
here agrees with the Tobin Tax in principle. The idea
is to avoid speculation, the massive of flow capital
from one place to another that can destabilise markets.
But how to implement it is a complex technical problem.
If only a few countries agree to do so, money will fly
somewhere else, to tax haven.
To be effective it must be endorsed
by everybody, and that is very difficult. Here, economists
are studying other alternatives that are more likely
to be implemented sooner, such as eliminating subsidies
to the agriculture sector or reducing taxes [on products
from developing countries] in the OECD countries*. Do
not think that we only talked about Lula or the war.
People here realise the importance of this issue. As
for lobbying in favour of the Tobin Tax from Davos,
you have to take in account that this is a forum, we
are not decision-makers. And it is also a political
issue, as it could affect the competitiveness of countries...
Nobody knows when an agreement will happen. I have no
crystal ball."
Michel Ogrizek is the Communications
Director of the WEF, and author of several books on
environment and communication.
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