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Stop AIDS Alliance supports the Robin Hood Tax campaign in Brussels

On March 25^th, merry men and women, accompanied by angry bankers and confused Heads of State gathered on Place Luxembourg outside the European Parliament for a launch of the Brussels’ campaign on a financial transaction tax (FTT). The Stop AIDS Alliance (SAA) supports and participates in the campaign.

The campaign brings together a broad coalition of development and climate NGOs in Brussels who support the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax - or “Robin Hood Tax” - that would generate income for reaching the MDGs and for tackling climate change. Even at very low rates of 0.05% or less, this tax could raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually for domestic and international projects and would cost governments and ordinary citizens nothing.

SAA believes that the finances generated from an FTT would help reducing the financing gap for reaching the health MDGs. However, the income should be additional to ODA and not allow donors to forget about their current commitments on reaching 0.7 of GNI for ODA by the year 2015. 

Today’s stunt took place as European Heads of State meet in the coming days to address the continuing climate and economic crises, agree a new strategy for jobs and growth, and examine financial market regulation ahead of the next G20 meeting.

Over the past weeks, innovative sources of finance, including the FTT, have seen support at all levels of EU institutions, including in ECOFIN (finance) Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, which just passed a resolution supporting the FTT.