What is a Tobin tax?
Q: What is a Tobin tax?
A: A Tobin tax is a tax on all trade of currency across borders. It was first proposed by economist James Tobin and is meant to put a penalty on short-term speculation in currencies, with the proposed rate being between 0.1% to 0.25%.
Q: When did Richard Nixon end the Bretton Woods system?
A: On August 15, 1971, Richard Nixon told that it would no longer be possible to change the US dollar to gold, thus ending the Bretton Woods system.
Q: Who won the Nobel Prize in Economics for proposing this idea?
A: Professor James Tobin later received a Nobel Prize in Economics in 1981 for his proposal of a new system for international currency stability which included a charge on foreign-exchange transactions.
Q: How was the debate around the Tobin tax reignited?
A: In 1997 Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique, started the debate around the Tobin tax again with an editorial titled "Disarming the Markets". He proposed creating an association for its introduction called ATTAC (Association for Taxation of Financial Transactions for Aid of Citizens).
Q: Where has this become an issue?
A: The tax has then become an issue of the antiglobalization movement and has been discussed not only behind academic institutions but even in streets and parliaments around world such as those in UK and France.
Q: What does ATTAC stand for?
A: ATTAC stands for Association for Taxation of Financial Transactions for Aid of Citizens.
