EU Needs Transaction Tax for Refugee Plan, UN Official Says

[Turborama]

Last edited Mon Sep 28, 2015, 05:40 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: Bloomberg

The European Union should levy a tax on financial transactions to fund a “Marshall Plan” to deal with the continent’s worst refugee crisis since World War II, United Nations Under-Secretary-General Philippe Douste-Blazy said.

The bloc could raise 59 billion euros ($66 billion) a year with a 0.1 percent tax on trades of stocks and bonds and a 0.01 percent tax on the trades of derivative contracts, Douste-Blazy said in a phone interview from Hungary on Friday.

“It’s very important that the 28 countries of the EU agree on this financial tax, which is tiny, microscopic,” said Douste-Blazy, a former French foreign minister. Without adequate funding, the EU faces a “dangerous rise in racism and xenophobia.”

-snip-

Douste-Blazy’s proposal calls for channeling 25 percent of revenue from the transaction tax to financial and technical assistance to countries receiving refugees; 50 percent to developing countries to help them alleviate extreme poverty; and 25 percent to EU national budgets. Half of the migrants coming to Europe are fleeing poverty, not war, which will get worse as the gap between rich and poor widens, he said.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-25/eu-needs-financial-transaction-tax-to-help-migrants-un-official

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The European Union Should Levy a Financial Transaction Tax to Fund a "Marshall Plan" to Deal with the Continent's Worst Refugee Crisis Since World War II

Philippe Douste-Blazy
Under-Secretary General of the United Nations; Chair, UNITAID

Considering that we are faced with a situation which is totally unprecedented since the Second World War,

Considering that more than two million Syrian refugees are now based in Turkey, many of them in dire conditions pushing them to flee to Europe, including 600,000 children most of whom have no schooling,

Considering that 50% of the migrants are not fleeing from war but from extreme poverty,

Considering that certain countries of the European Union are coming under overwhelming pressure, notably Italy, Greece, Hungary and Austria,

We call on the states of the European Union to come to an agreement and take action. An adequate response is urgent if we want to prevent a dangerous rise in racism and xenophobia.

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philippe-dousteblazy/the-european-union-should_b_8200304.html

[HereSince1628]

1. The mediterranean states recieving the refugees certainly need help with the crisis

hopefully the oil-rich nations that sponsored the proxy wars will step up, too.

[librechik]

2. Oh no! We can't tax the job creators!

this is a sensible idea. I'll just wait here while a few billionaires make it impossible.

[mopinko]

3. now this plan for this tax might actually be a start.

but it has to happen WORLD WIDE OR IT WONT WORK.
people have borders. money has no borders. if it doesnt happen everywhere at once, you will see some serious economic disturbance as trades move to electronic exchanges elsewhere.
maybe if bernie gets elected, and this move is afoot in the eu, it could get rolling. i approve of the tax, but right here in chicago a lot of GOOD jobs in support staff for the exchanges will be gone in a week.
have to get london and hong kong on board, tho.

[branford]

4. The most interesting thing about the article

is that the United Nations official admitted that 50% of the migrants are not actual refugees under international law, but rather are economic migrants.

Such statements are very harmful to many liberal European politicians trying to find common solutions for the "refugees," and will figure prominently in right-wing, anti-migrant, political rhetoric.

Moreover, a transaction tax is already very controversial in the EU, particularly in Britain, no less before their EU referendum, and that was when European politicians wanted to send the money collected back to the individual EU states for domestic purposes. The UN official's suggestion that half of any monies collected go to additional foreign aid, and the other half used for the express purpose of direct financial assistance to unpopular migrants (half of whom are not refugees) is a political non-starter.

In fact, given the extreme controversy surrounding the migrants and the billions (and increasing) already spent on them in Europe, outside United Nations pressure for the EU to raise taxes in this environment is very counterproductive and will likely have the opposite effect, both politically and financially..

[840high]

11. When I pointed that out in

another thread I was told it was right wing talk.

[MattSh]

5. No, the EU should say...

"F*ck the USA" every time America calls on them to back an extremely small, extremely extreme minority who wants to overthrow a legitimate government. Until the EU does that, nothing will stop the refugee crisis.

[AngryAmish]

6. The city of Chicago welcomes this tax.

[Gregorian]

7. While simultaneously sending Bush, Blair, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et. al. to the Hague for war crime

Send a message: your wars have far reaching consequences. Our price of gas has refugees attached to it.

[yeoman6987]

8. Never happen

The United States does not fall under The Hague and never will. That was decided decades ago. Only the United States can deal with our war crime personnel. No one else can.

[Gregorian]

10. I have never heard that.

I've read up on it, and never got that conclusion. Oh well, learn something here every day. It seems a bit unrealistic to expect a corrupt congress to vote for allowing its members to be prosecuted. Sneaky corrupt humans are tricky animals. This is why I like Bernie. Bottom up control.

[RufusTFirefly]

9. This is good. It may also make Bernie's job easier

Bernie's calling for a similar tax in order to make tuition free at public universities.

[Oerdin]

12. A stupid idea.

With the UK having their vote to leave the EU or not due to its illegitimate and unrepresentative nature all this new tax would do would be to convince the UK to officially leave the EU. With the UK gone something like 45%-50% of the transactions you wish to tax would suddenly be beyond the reach of the EU. Further more it would push most of the transactions which currently occur on the continent (mostly in Frankfurt and Paris) to London so as to avoid the tax. It is an all around stupid idea especially given that less than 1 in 5 of the migrants are actual refugees from unsafe or war torn countries.

Germany just announced they were expediting procedures so that the 80% of them who do not qualify for refugee status are deported with in 30 days. Further more the migrants are kept confined in camps until the legal process is complete so it is not like it will be hard for German authorities to locate and deport them.

[cyberswede]

13. Locking...

This is an analysis piece rather than LBN. Please consider posting in GD (or Good Reads?).

[Turborama]

14. Thanks for allowing the revision.`