Euro-Parliament urges tax on financial operations
(STRASBOURG) - The European Parliament on Wednesday called for a worldwide tax on financial transactions that would help pay for the economic crisis and could aid the fight against global warming.
"The European Union should come up with a common position... on options for the financial sector to make a just and substantial contribution" through such a tax, read the text of a resolution by the parliament.
If a global agreement is impossible, the EU should "elaborate its own strategy", EU lawmakers added in their non-binding resolution.
They also called on the European Commission to compile a report on the impact of the tax before the next summit of G20 nations in Toronto in June.
The idea of a tax on financial transactions, also known as a "Tobin tax" after Nobel laureate James Tobin, has gained momentum following the massive bailouts of top banks in Europe and the United States with taxpayers' money.
Text and Picture Copyright 2010 AFP. All other Copyright 2010 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.