Global tax worth a look, says British PM

I / London September 22, 2009, 10:03 IST

With the G20 summit scheduled for next week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has suggested that the introduction of a global tax to reduce risky behaviour by banks was "worth looking at".

Although, a greater cooperation between countries to stop excessive risk taking was required before such a tax could be considered, he added.     

France has proposed introducing a tax to be levied on every financial transaction, known as a Tobin Tax, so that with the billions of euros raised, economic development could be supported.     

Brown said such an idea was worth consideration, but global cooperation that is "cemented" and "action that is successful against tax havens" were required before taking any steps towards the measure.     

The prime minister, briefing journalists yesterday before leaving for the UN General Assembly in New York and then the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh, said the level of cooperation to prevent risky deals was still unsatisfactory.     

"The first thing is to have the global coordination to involve every major country and we are not there yet," he added.     

Most commentators expect Britain and the United States to oppose such a tax, fearing its impact on their major financial centres.