News
Poverty
Nearly a quarter of all UK citizens were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to a survey by the ONS, released this week. This is equivalent to 14 million people and places the UK midway down the EU poverty league table, with Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania worst performers, with nearly half their populations at risk. The three best performing countries were the Czech Republic, Netherlands and Sweden, with just 15% at risk.
A Tobin Tax for Europe
Europe Fiancial sector Tax policy Tobin tac
A Tobin tax is a special tax on currency transactions, designed to penalise excessive short-term speculation in currency markets. Advocates have long argued that in order to reduce speculation and instability in financial markets some form of transaction tax should be imposed on a range of financial transactions. Initially referred to as a securities transaction tax, it is more formally known today as a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT), or less formally a Robin Hood tax.