 |
Click on any of the links below to read past news stories featured on the Stamp Out Poverty website
New Chancellor faces big decisions
(July 2010) Take part in our 2 minute action to ensure George Osborne makes the right choice when he announces the emergency Budget on 22 June. He can avoid raising taxes on ordinary people by asking for a fairer contribution from the financial sector.
Tights, Camera, Action
(June 2010) Create your own bankbuster 60-90 sec film for the Robin Hood Tax campaign. Sienna Miller introduces the competition in this short video.
£20 billion more from UK financial sector possible
(June 2010) The Institute for Public Policy Research has published a new hard-hitting report that outlines how the UK financial sector can afford £20 billion in additional taxes.
Robin Hood and the Politicians
(May 2010) UK political parties clamour to tax the banks. None other than the IMF has proposed not one, but two new bank levies. Its time to take stock.
2-minute election action
(April 2010) Once every five years it's we who call the shots. Here's how we can demand a fair tax on risky banks to raise billions for good causes here and abroad. Take 2 minutes to fire an election arrow. Its the easiest e-action ever and the impact could be immense
Urge the Chancellor to implement the first Robin Hood Tax
(March 2010) In the last Budget before the General Election let's get Alistair Darling to introduce a stamp duty on sterling transactions. By taking 5p from every £1,000 traded by big banks it would generate £3 billion a year.
Robin Hood, Robin Hood...
(March 2010) Since launching 4 short weeks ago we have achieved a massive amount and made the Robin Hood Tax one of the UK’s most talked about campaigns. Here’s a roundup of some recent highlights.
Flying start for Robin Hood Tax campaign
(February 2010) Actor Bill Nighy and writer/director Richard Curtis helped launch the Robin Hood Tax campaign today, appearing on both BBC and ITV new programmes. Together they have made a brilliant 3 minute film, starring Bill as the banker.
How UK/French support could mean real change
(December 2009) In a month in which Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy published a joint editorial in the Wall Street Journal singing the praises of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) we reflect on a month that has brought our issue into the mainstream.
Brown Champions Tax on Banks
(November 2009) After 10 years of campaigning, a day some thought impossible has arrived: the UK government - and Gordon Brown himself - are calling for a tax on the banking sector.
Record Breaking Bonuses Return
(October 2009) Wall Street bank JP Morgan Chase has beaten all expectations with third quarter profits of £2.25 billion. Goldman Sachs is set to pay a record-breaking £14 billion in bonuses - the highest in its history. So what has changed?
120 NGOs worldwide say ‘¥€$ to H£ALTH’
(September 2009) Over a 120 health-related NGO's from across the globe have today launched a declaration calling for a Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) for Health. Their message for decision-makers is simple: say ‘¥€$ to H£ALTH’.
CTL Breakthrough in Paris
(June 2009) High-octane week sees the Currency Transaction Levy in the headlines and on the desks of Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world.
Leading Group and Taskforce converge in Paris
(May 2009) Two of the most important initiatives to date on innovative finance will converge in Paris on 28th-29th May as leaders look to meet the financing gap needed to pay for basic health services in developing countries.
Finland Steps Closer to a Currency Transaction Levy
(May 2009) Support is growing in the Finnish parliament for a Currency Transaction Levy. An intense lobbying campaign has brought cross-party support and calls for legislation
Assessing the Alternatives
(April 2009) New report from Stamp Out Poverty and the new economics foundation assesses the alternatives for meeting the massive costs of climate change mitigation and adaptation.
International Momentum is Building...
(April 2009) Over 100 Civil Society Organisations worldwide sign open letter in calling on G20 leaders to introduce a Currency Transaction Levy.
Leading Group Website:
(April 2009) The Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to Fund Development is a body that brings together 55 countries, various international organisations and non-governmental organisations.
TAKE ACTION: Email World Bank Boss Today:
(March 2009) The International Health Partnership is a new initiative spearheaded by Gordon Brown and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. The Currency Transaction Levy is the most promising financial instrument to fund their work. Send Robert Zoellick a message now!
Progress in Fight Against Tax Dodgers
(March 2009) The campaign to expose the murky world of tax havens scored a major success last week. Some of the world’s largest and most notorious offshore banking centres that include Liechtenstein, Andorra, Austria, Luxembourg, Jersey and Switzerland have agreed to hand over information on account holders suspected of tax evasion.
Put People First
(March 2009) On 28th March thousands will march through London as part of a global campaign to challenge the G20, ahead of their 2nd April summit on the global financial crisis.
Wake up Gordon: Time to Get Out of Bed with the City:
(January 2009) Stamp Out Poverty has joined forces with a number of anti-poverty and environmental groups to demand that Gordon Brown end his love affair with the City
Secrets of the Financial Crisis Revealed
(January 2009) In December 2008, Stamp Out Poverty participated in a landmark seminar on the financial crisis, with contributions from some of the UK’s leading experts
Innovative Finance to Combat Climate Change
(January 2009) Poor communities in the developing world are hit hardest by the impacts of climate change, while they are the least responsible for the problem. Innovative finance mechanisms can provide the funds necessary for adaptation needs. Oxfam explains how...
Anti-Poverty Conference – Highs and Lows
(January 2009) Stamp Out Poverty’s coordinator reports back from the recent UN summit in Doha where a campaign breakthrough was the highlight of a conference blighted by the intransigence of the out-going US administration.
Campaign Success Story
(Autumn 2008) Stamp Out Poverty’s coordinator reports back from the recent UN summit in Doha where a campaign breakthrough was the highlight of a conference blighted by the intransigence of the out-going US administration.
Currency Transaction Tax (CTT) in the News
(Autumn 2008) Out of the current financial crisis, fresh calls have emerged in support of the CTT. In ‘Tobin’s nice little earner’ , Larry Elliot discusses how a levy on currency transactions could raise billions and act to calm markets in turmoil. Whilst Jeffrey Sachs’s recent article ‘Amid the rubble of global finance, a blueprint for Bretton Woods II’ argues that the CTT needs to be incorporated into a new global financial blueprint.
Most important Anti-Poverty Summit for 6 years
(August 2008) The most important high-level meeting to combat poverty for 6 years takes place in a few months time presided over by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. Stamp Out Poverty is centrally involved.
Japan considers Currency Levy – TAKE ACTION
(August 2008) On July 27th the Japanese government launched discussions on the possibility of introducing a Currency Transaction Development Levy (CTDL) to help fund assistance programmes in developing countries.
Stamp Out Poverty in the News
(August 2008) There have been several news articles recently speaking favourably about the Currency Transaction Tax. These have included ‘Financial markets tax could aid world’s poor’ by Harvey Moss which appeared in the Financial Times and ‘$40bn shortfall in Africa aid endangers 5 million lives’ by Tracy McVeigh which was published by the Observer.
Breaking news! – UN chief speaks out in favour of key Stamp Out Poverty proposal
(June 2008) The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has recently made the unprecedented step of going on record to support the Currency Transaction Development Levy: “..there is renewed international interest in a possible currency-transaction “development levy” of 0.005 per cent, a minuscule tax that is not expected to materially affect market operations while having the potential to generate billions of dollars that can be allocated for development.
Signs show MPs are set to support Sterling Stamp Duty
(October 2007) The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Debt, Aid and Trade will be shortly launching the Report which follows their Inquiry conducted this year into additional sources of finance for development.
Staggering Increase in Forex Market raises revenue potential
(October 2007) The foreign exchange market has grown by more than 70% from $1,880 billion to $3,210 billion in just 3 years, the latest triennial survey from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows. This means that potential revenue from a sterling stamp duty of 0.005% has increased from £1 billion in 2004 to £1.7bn in 2007.
UN Secretary General calls for additional finance
(October 2007) At the 4th international conference of the Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to Fund Development in Seoul in September 2007, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a Korean national, addressed the audience, making his feelings explicit. “I continue to strongly support the exploration of innovative mechanisms for financing for development…"
Currency tax implemented by City firm
(June 2007) INTL Global Currencies, a City firm specialising in foreign exchange made history on 21 May by launching a week-long trial of a currency transaction tax (CTT) to raise money for charity. Implementing the levy at the 0.005% rate that Stamp Out Poverty recommends, the company raised almost £4,000 in a matter of days.
Stamp Out Poverty – The World Can’t Wait
(June 2007) Stamp Out Poverty joined with several thousand supporters of the 'World Can't Wait' campaign in the bright sunshine of Saturday 2 June to send a message to Tony Blair on the eve of Germany’s G8 summit. After Make Poverty History two years ago there is a growing impatience that the promises made at Gleneagles are not being fulfilled.
Campaigners Secure Next Step in Norway
(February 2007) Norway, which held such promise as a country that might be the first to pilot a currency transaction tax (CTT) when it hosted the latest conference on innovative financing on February 6th and 7th in Oslo, almost proved a block to progress. Sustained pressure however, from campaigns both in Norway and outside – notably from Stamp Out Poverty supporters – secured the announcement of an international taskforce to investigate the actual steps that countries would need to take to implement a CTT.
November forum forges important links with AIDS campaign
(February 2007) Stamp Out Poverty co-hosted an excellent forum with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance at the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund in November last year. The event was an opportunity to bring the NGO world up to speed with UNITAID – the international drugs purchase facility to deliver HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria treatments, funded principally by the first development tax, a small duty on airline tickets.
Parliamentarians show their support for a sterling stamp duty
(February 2007) Stamp Out Poverty has stepped up its domestic campaign to lobby the UK government to implement the sterling stamp duty on currency transactions. This includes continuing to work closely with the student organisation, People & Planet, to lobby MPs to support a sterling stamp duty to help meet the funding gap required to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
UNITAID launched
(November 2006) We are pleased to welcome the launch of UNITAID - an international drug purchase facility to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis – which is principally financed by the first ever development tax, a small levy on airline tickets. UNITAID was officially launched on 19 September at the UN General Assembly by Secretary General Kofi Annan, President Lula de Silva of Brazil, France’s President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway.
Stamp Out Poverty to present Currency Duty proposal to key Governmental meeting
(November 2006) Following on from our participation on the panels of the high-level conferences on Innovative Financing in Paris (in February) and Brasilia (in July) this year, Stamp Out Poverty has been offered the opportunity to play a key role in the Norway Experts’ meeting in December. This will serve as a guide for the next international conference that will take place in Oslo in February 2007.
UK Immunisation Initiative to deliver 4 billion dollars over next 10 years
(November 2006) Finally, after a gestation period of several years, the Treasury’s innovative funding idea - the International Finance Facility (IFF) has been born. According to the Treasury’s press release (7.11.06): “IFFIm will deliver 4 billion dollars over the next ten years to be spent on the immunisation of up to 500 million children in the world’s 70 poorest countries..."
More than billion in innovative finance to be generated in coming year
(August 2006) Progress with innovative development finance is accelerating apace as three ‘pilot’ projects will shortly be launched raising more than $1 billion over the next 12 months. The three initiatives are the Air Ticket Levy to pay for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis treatment, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, and a Global Lottery to raise funds for the UN World Food Programme.
Time for the Treasury to put their money where their mouth is
(August 2006) The money raised through the Air Ticket Levy is going to be channelled into the new International Drug Purchase Facility (IDPF), which will be used to pay for life-saving HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis treatment in the world’s poorest countries. As yet, the UK government has made no financial commitment to this initiative, even though it has frequently pledged its support in the past.
International momentum continues as France hands baton to Brazil
(August 2006) On 6 July, a major conference on ‘Innovative Financing for Development’ opened in Brasilia as a follow up to the Ministerial Meeting in Paris, in February, where the first ‘Development Tax’ – the Air Ticket Levy - was agreed. As lead speaker on the panel on financial transaction taxes, the Stamp Out Poverty Coordinator challenged the countries present to seize the day and pilot the Currency Transaction Tax (CTT).
Treasury receives 30,000 emails – thanks to you
(May 2006) Between the middle of January and the end of February the Chancellor received tens of thousands of emails from Stamp Out Poverty supporters. The messages urged his backing for the Air Ticket Levy in the run-up to its launch in Paris on 28 February.
First development tax agreed at Paris Ministerial Conference
(March 2006) President Jacques Chirac opened a conference on innovative finance for development, attended by more than 400 people from 93 countries, including 70 Ministers, on 28 February in Paris. Delegates, including more than 40 NGOs (yours truly from Stamp Out Poverty amongst them) were first treated to a reception at the Elysée palace. Twelve countries signed up to the Air Ticket Levy – the first international development tax.
European Parliament passes motion on innovative finance by overwhelming majority
(March 2006) We are pleased to inform you that - not least because of a meeting Stamp Out Poverty held with MEPs at the end of 2005 - a momentum built up that culminated in the passing of a motion in the European Parliament on innovative development finance.
Stamp Out Poverty doubles supporter numbers thanks to MAKE POVERTY HISTORY
(February 2006) We are delighted to announce a dramatic increase in the number of our supporters as many people have recently joined us from the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign. We extend you a warm welcome.
President Chirac to open ground-breaking Air Ticket Levy conference
(February 2006) President Jacques Chirac will open the ground-breaking conference of international ministers in Paris on February 28th, which will agree the implementation of an Air Ticket Levy to finance development. This marks a significant milestone for campaigners from many countries who have argued the need for this sort of initiative over a number of years.
Powerful new report launched at Stamp Out Poverty international conference
(February 2006) Stamp Out Poverty’s international conference, held at Camden Town Hall on Saturday 19 November, not only launched our powerful new report, A Sterling Solution, but also marked the unprecedented achievements the campaign made during 2005. The report, written by City experts, shows exactly how a tax on sterling foreign exchange transactions can be plumbed into the financial system with the potential to increase UK aid by £1.8 billion each year.
Stamp Out Poverty expands beyond Currency Transaction Tax
(Autumn 2005) The Stamp Out Poverty campaign after consultation with its member organisations agreed during the summer to extend its remit to cover various innovative mechanisms to finance development. Whilst the CTT remains our flagship campaign, it is an exciting prospect that we can broaden our sphere of work to encompass such initiatives as the Air Ticket levy (ATL), which has made such rapid progress this year.
France champions first dedicated development tax
(Autumn 2005) The Air Ticket levy took a decisive leap closer to reality when more than 50 countries declared themselves in favour of it in New York last month. The United Nations were holding one of the most important summits in the last five years on how to pay for the Millennium Development Goals.
‘Progress and Action’ conference – Saturday 19 November
(Autumn 2005) Stamp Out Poverty is holding a one-day conference at which some of the most renowned specialists in the field of innovative sources of development finance will be speaking. Jean-Pierre Landau, whose report for President Chirac on new ways to fund development has opened up the political space for unprecedented progress in 2005.
G8 aid failure makes currency tax more timely than ever
(Summer 2005) World leaders meeting at the G8 in Gleneagles have put back the date for delivering an extra $50 billion in aid to 2010. The Make Poverty History coalition responded immediately saying: “…the aid will arrive too late and falls far short of the scale needed to end poverty in the world’s poorest countries”. The announcement of only a very modest aid increase is nothing like the historic breakthrough that millions of people around the world were expecting.
Re-invention as Stamp Out Poverty
(Spring 2005) To translate this new approach into the most effective way to win the CTT argument, on April 7 the Tobin Tax Network underwent a transformation as we launched Stamp Out Poverty – the campaign for a stamp duty on currency transactions.
Tobin Tax "technically feasible" say world leaders
(Winter 2004) The Presidents of France, Brazil, Spain and Chile with UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, have said that: “a tax on foreign exchange transactions is technically feasible on a global level”.
Money trade worth .9 trillion per day – up 57% in 3 years
(Winter 2004) The market in currencies has risen from $1.2 trillion per day in 2001 to $1.9 trillion per day in 2004, a staggering increase of 57%. Every three years the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) produces a report surveying activity in the foreign exchange and derivatives markets.
Tobin Tax legislation passed in Belgium
(Summer 2004) After an epic legislative journey the Tobin Tax finally succeeded in becoming law on 1st July 2004. Belgian MPs voted 67 for the legislation, 42 against, with 19 abstentions. This represents a landmark victory for the campaign and a significant step towards winning the argument for its implementation across Europe.
Belgian momentum moves to Westminster
(Summer 2004) Following hot on the heels of the success in Belgium, an Early Day Motion (EDM) has been tabled in the House of Commons by Harry Barnes MP. The EDM invites MPs to show their support for the Tobin Tax by signing the motion, and attracted a wave of signatures within hours.
India introduces taxes on the securities markets
(Summer 2004) A proposal similar to the Tobin Tax is likely to be introduced in India in the form of a Securities Transaction Tax (STT) of 0.15% on the financial markets. This new system looks set to replace the complicated financial tax regime that currently exists.
Brown talks of Tobin Tax at recent high-level poverty conference
(Spring 2004) At last year’s Labour Party conference Gordon Brown made a stirring speech powerfully stating the woeful lack of money spent on global healthcare: “Today two million people round the world die each year from tuberculosis – a curable disease. One million die from malaria – a preventable disease. Three million die from aids – a treatable disease...Yet all the world’s development aid amounts to just five pence a week for the health of each sick African child”.
|
|
|
|
|
|
