Would a Robin Hood tax be passed on to consumers?
As the clamour for the introduction of the so-called "Robin Hood tax" continues to grow, there are concerns that introduction of a tax on every financial transaction in the world would effectively be passed on to consumers. The truth is that the vast majority of taxes and additional costs targeted at the financial sector, or any other sector for that matter, are almost inevitably passed on to consumers in the long run. So would consumers be paying yet another tax to save the world?
When you consider that taxpayers around the world are already paying billions upon billions of pounds to their national governments for services and economic assistance as a whole why should they be taxed again?
It is also worth remembering that the financial sector contributes billions upon billions of pounds to governments around the world in the shape of corporation tax and income tax for employees. This is a sector that every government in the world has looked to forge a strong relationship with because ultimately without financial liquidity and financial backing the worldwide economy would literally grind to a halt.
Surely now is the time to improve liquidity in the worldwide money markets, rather than taking more money out of the system via the proposed "Robin Hood tax"?
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