Robin Hood Tax

The Robin Hood Tax campaign demands…

A tax on banks that would raise hundreds of billions to tackle poverty and climate change, here and abroad.

Globally, this tax on the financial sector has the power to raise as much as US$409 billion every year. A financial transaction tax could raise significant funds for disease responses and health system strengthening in poorer countries.

Why a Robin Hood Tax?

It is only fair that banks pay their share. People are angry that banks took our economy to the brink, but we are paying to clear up the mess. Whilst we feel the effects of the cuts and tax rises, they are receiving billions in bonuses. A Robin Hood Tax would show we really are all in this together as it would fall on those who can afford to pay.
The Robin Hood Tax offers a real alternative to cuts. Banks in the UK can afford to pay an extra £20 billion a year in tax. This offers a real alternative to cuts in public services that will hurt millions of people in the UK and around the world. The choice between helping those here in the UK and abroad is a false choice; a Robin Hood Tax on banks is a fair and practical way to do both.
We can turn a crisis for banks into an opportunity for the world. Millions of poor people at home and abroad are suffering from an economic crisis they did nothing to cause and millions more are facing the devastating effects of climate change. A Robin Hood Tax can raise hundreds of billions globally to help them.
A financial transaction tax can fill resource gaps in health. There is an estimated $488 billion gap in resources for global health between 2009 and 2015. This includes, for example, approximately $127 billion for maternal and child health or $68 billion to train and retain much needed healthworkers.

Read more about the potential benefits of a financial transaction tax for health here

What we are asking for:

A financial transactions tax which raises billions of dollars from the financial sector globally every year.
A tax could be introduced at the EU level and globally at the G20, but at the same time the UK does not need to wait for international agreement.
A tax could be split 50% to fight poverty in the UK, 25% to fight poverty – including ill health – in developing countries and 25% for climate finance. This could raise billions of additional money for global health.