http://www.kaapeli.fi/unions/ Metalworkers Union President Per-Erik Lundh
supports Tobin-tax for international capital transfers
Helsinki (25.08.1999 - Juhani Artto) Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's new
government included in its programme a brief remark on the need to restrain
international capital transfers. The programme gives no hints about what kind
of concrete means could be considered for this.
In late June the Metalworkers Union President Per-Erik Lundh came out with
one such concrete proposal: he is in favour of applying a mechanism known
as the Tobin tax. In practise this means that the international community
should levy a small tax on short-term international capital transfers. The goal
would mainly be to discourage the speculative transfers that cause instability
in the global financial system as a whole. A major proportion of the more
than USD 1,000 billion dollar daily transfers are purely speculative.
Lundh's position gives momentum to the Tobin tax demand in Finland where
Kepa, the umbrella organisation for NGOs in international development work,
has recently started to campaign for a global Tobin tax.