French bank becomes the first to introduce Tobin Tax

French bank becomes the first to introduce Tobin Tax

Banks says tax will raise €100,000 per annum for Millennium Development Goals

This step is very significant. It tells us that it has now made sense to a bank to introduce a Tobin tax on its own. Of course, the amount is a drop in the bucket, but considering the immense foot dragging that has gone on for several decades to prevent what would not just be a tax but a scientifically verifiable stabilizer in preventing the formation of unnecessarily speculative bubbles involving foreign currency exchanges, and a PR item of good will as well, this is truly an event to be celebrated and communicated to the denizens of the halls of the central banks and finance/treasury departments of the United States and Canada, in which seem now to be cowering the last bravadoic dinosaurs of the pre-FTT era.

Among politicians, we have Bernard Kouchner, Nicholas Sarkozy, and Christine Lagarde chiefly to thank for this unilateral mini-step in a direction that the global financial system desperately needs to implement without further delay. Vive La France!

In case anyone should one to take further action on this, my belief is that it will be a smoother and more organically intelligent ride to work out a design for a smart FTT in which the primary objective is to rechannel the immense amount of energy now devoted to desk-top mathematical speculation into mutually respectful relationships between entrepreneurs oriented to healthy sustainability and ethically well-grounded financiers. My last paper on this subject is at this link.

If anyone has a means to make sure that Adair Turner, chair of the FSB, learns the whys and wherefores of this initiative, that would, IMO, be a service the entire world will come to appreciate.

Angus Cunningham
Principal, Authentix Coaches