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10:00 GMT
LONDON, Nov 8 (KUNA) -- Organizations from 42 countries Monday issued a
plea here to world leaders to impose a tax on financial transactions to help
meet the costs of the economic crisis and support developing nations.
The group amounts to the largest coalition yet to give its backing to an
international financial transactions tax, and includes members of the UK-based
"Robin Hood" Tax campaign including the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Friends of
the Earth, and ActionAid.
Their plea comes ahead of the summit of leaders of G20 economic powers in
the South Korean capital Seoul on November 11-12, when measures to stabilize
the world economy and boost the recovery will be high on the agenda.
Today's letter released here, addressed to G20 leaders including Prime
Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama, is signed by
development, health, education, and environmental charities and unions from 16
of the G20 countries.
It says that a financial transaction tax would help meet the costs "of the
global financial and economic crisis, including reducing the unacceptably high
rate of job loss, and achieve key development, health, education, and climate
change objectives in developing countries."
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said, "Governments around the world
are embarking on a sweeping program of austerity measures that will lead to
huge job losses and cuts in services that the most vulnerable in society rely
upon.
"At the same time, the banks are back to business as usual with
multimillion pound salaries being paid to the chief executives of bailed-out
banks and billions handed out in bonuses.
"A Robin Hood Tax would mean the world's banks paying to reduce deficits
they helped cause, and would remove the need for such swinging cuts in public
spending."
Friends of the Earth's head of international climate Asad Rehman said,
"Recent floods in Pakistan and droughts in Africa show the devastating reality
of climate change on people in developing countries.
ActionAid meanwhile said, "The G20 must now turn the global economic crisis
into an opportunity to help the world's poorest. A tiny tax on the banks could
raise hundreds of billions needed for those around the world feeling the
effects of a crisis they did the least to create."(end)
he.wsa
KUNA 081300 Nov 10NNNN