This Thursday (24th of March 2011) the Financial Transaction Tax, known as the Robin Hood Tax, will be on the agenda when the European Council meet in Brussels. Oxfam commissioned YouGov for a poll which shows a clear majority of people in six European countries backs the European Parliament to establish such a tax on financial transactions in Europe. A majority of people in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy all support a Robin Hood Tax. More voters in the Netherlands support this tax than oppose it, the poll showed.
“More than 80 per cent in each country, ranging from 82 per cent in the Netherlands to 90 per cent in Spain, believe banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions have a responsibility to repair the damage caused by the economic crisis they helped to cause”, Oxfam writes in a press release. “Only one in nine people in the UK and France and one out of 11 in Germany thought banks had already done enough to atone for the economic crisis”
The press release continues: “More than twice as many people supported an FTT than opposed it in the UK (51 per cent vs 19 per cent), Germany (53 v 24), France (51 v 22), Spain (67 v 15) and Italy (59 v 18). In the Netherlands 38 per cent of those questioned were in favour and 25 per cent opposed.”
Earlier this month the 17 countries in the Eurozone agreed to explore the introduction of an FTT at Euro area, EU and global levels. This came just days after the European Parliament backed a Europe-wide Robin Hood Tax. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said creating a coalition of countries willing to implement an FTT for development and climate change will be a key priority for his country’s year as chair of the G20.