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25 August, 1999The president of the Finnish Metalworkers' Union favours levying a tax on short-term international capital transfers.
FINLAND: According to the on-line publication, Trade Union News from Finland, the new government of Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen has included in its programme a paragraph concerning the need to restrain international capital transfers. It is not clear, however, what kind of concrete means would be considered for this.
The following is an unofficial translation of this paragraph: "The openness of international organisations has to be increased and their ability to respond to instabilities caused by free movement of capital and challenges of globalisation has to be enhanced. In this respect, the possibilities of setting up comprehensive international systems to control disturbances caused by short-term and speculative movements of capital have to be explored."
A major proportion of the more than US$1,000 billion in daily transfers are purely speculative.
In remarks made at the IMF's Central Committee meeting in late June in this regard, Per-Erik Lundh, president of the Finnish Metalworkers' Union, expressed his support for strict international rules to make speculation in currencies unprofitable. One possibility, he said, would be the "Tobin tax" on international capital transfers. In practise, this means that a small tax would be levied by the international community on short-term international capital transfers in an attempt to discourage the kind of speculation which destabilises the global financial system.
Lundh's position gives momentum to the Tobin tax demand in Finland where Kepa, the umbrella organisation for non-governmental organisations in international development work, has recently started campaigning for a global Tobin tax.
The Canadian House of Commons was the first parliament in the world to adopt a motion calling for the Tobin Tax. The support of the Canadian trade union movement was crucial in getting the motion through.
The following is an unofficial translation of this paragraph: "The openness of international organisations has to be increased and their ability to respond to instabilities caused by free movement of capital and challenges of globalisation has to be enhanced. In this respect, the possibilities of setting up comprehensive international systems to control disturbances caused by short-term and speculative movements of capital have to be explored."
A major proportion of the more than US$1,000 billion in daily transfers are purely speculative.
In remarks made at the IMF's Central Committee meeting in late June in this regard, Per-Erik Lundh, president of the Finnish Metalworkers' Union, expressed his support for strict international rules to make speculation in currencies unprofitable. One possibility, he said, would be the "Tobin tax" on international capital transfers. In practise, this means that a small tax would be levied by the international community on short-term international capital transfers in an attempt to discourage the kind of speculation which destabilises the global financial system.
Lundh's position gives momentum to the Tobin tax demand in Finland where Kepa, the umbrella organisation for non-governmental organisations in international development work, has recently started campaigning for a global Tobin tax.
The Canadian House of Commons was the first parliament in the world to adopt a motion calling for the Tobin Tax. The support of the Canadian trade union movement was crucial in getting the motion through.