Corbyn Risks Labour Division Over New City Tax

[naomi24]

//Jeremy Corbyn will force the Labour party to introduce a new tax on the City, in a move that pits the Labour leader against his newly elected mayor.
The Labour leader told activists at the party’s final Remain rally in London that a Labour government would introduce a financial transactions tax – dubbed the Robin Hood tax -- on the City, stoking simmering divisions between the left-wing leader and other senior figures in the party.//

http://news.sky.com/story/1715960/corbyn-risks-labour-division-over-new-city-tax

That’ll do the country a lot of good!! A wonderful incentive for investment!! If Labour cherishes any hope at all of making any sort of a comeback Corbyn has to go - and the senior figures in the party know it. Who would really be stupid enough to vote for such a silly, ignorant man?

[dannyk13]

///Who would really be stupid enough to vote for such a silly, ignorant man?///
The same people who elected him party leader?

[douglas9401]

Who? The £3.00 tories?

[naomi24]

It won't be the £3 Tories voting for him in a General Election though, Douglas.

[douglas9401]

I really don't care what happens to this humourless automaton throwback to the seventies.
After the utter stupidity of effectively putting their leadership election on the open market Labour got what they deserve.
It'll do no harm to skip a couple of elections and let them catch up with the real world.

[ToraToraTora]

///Who would really be stupid enough to vote for such a silly, ignorant man?///
over to you mikey!

[Gromit]

What is not to like.

A very small levy on every transaction done in the City. Everytime you or I do a trade we pay a transaction tax called VAT. Why shouldn't banks pay something similar? The money would go to pay off our debt and deficit, which were caused by having to bail out our banks to the tune of £hundreds of billions, in the first place. Some of the austerity pain should be extended to the banks, even if it is a very little pain they can more than afford.

This is going to come in across the rest of the world anyway soon, so we would be daft to opt out ourselves.

In terms of Corbyn and McDonnell, they cannot impose this on the Party. Members formulate and vote on the policy. It will have to be agreed on by the full membership.

[jno]

The last Labour PM loved the City and let it do what it wanted. How did that work out?

[ToraToraTora]

seems logical gromit but they'll just do the transactions in a jurisdiction that does not have the tax. Banks will move heaven and earth to save a shilling.

[Gromit]

Tora

The G20 signed up to the principal at its Pittsburg meeting. Europe are going to do it soon, 40 countries have FTT in operation, raising $38 billion. The USA have Section 31 and the UK has Stamp Duty.
The City is not going to closedown and move to some Caribean Island over a 0.02% fee.

[naomi24]

Gromit, a 0.02% levy on a multi-million pound transaction equates to a lot of money. Therefore such a tax will deter investment. The man is a fool who doesn't understand business, which is why he is creating dissent in his own party from those who do.

[retrocop]

Oh my God. The remainers worry that the city and banking/financial institutes will leave London if Brexit wins.
This Labour moron will achieve that,given the chance, without a referendum!!

[retrocop]

naomi24
mikey keeps gloating that ONLY the Tory party are hugely divided,split and fighting amongst themselves. According to mikey one must assume all is rosy in the Labour camp and their is no division.!!
If anyone believes that then they must believe in Cameron as well. Deluded Fools.

[Gromit]

Naomi,
A Financial Transaction Tax was not some fiendish idea concocted by Corbyn. Variations of it have been around for centuries.

Stamp Duty does not deter people buying houses. So a small levy will not deter trade, if that trade is profitable. No one is going to say I won't make 0.5% profit on this trade, because I have to pay 0.02% in tax. If there is any profit to be made, the transaction will happen.

At the moment, our income tax is paying for interest on our debts (incurred from us borrowing to bail out the banks) instead of being spent on the things we want and need. If the bankers helped to chip away our debt, there could even be tax cuts for the rest of us, stimulating the economy in the bargain.

[Gromit]

Retrocop,
Everybody knows (except you it seems) that there is a division in the Labour Party between the MPs, who are mostly Blair supporters, and the membership, who are mostly not Blair supporters.
The reason Corbyn is leader is because the membership rejected Burnham, the MPs preferred candidate. The membership have the power to de-select the MPs so any MP who does not follow the Party might be removed, or more likely they will tow the line.

[ToraToraTora]

we did not borrow gromit we did QE, ie created money out of thin air.

[youngmafbog]

It may start as a small tax but it wont stay that way. There is always a way round these things if you have enough briefs and i am pretty sure you would be gobsmacked but tge sums global banks put that way.

As TTT has pointed out banks will go a long way to just save a shilling.

[Gromit]

// we did not borrow [to bail out the banks], we did quantitive easing //

I think you may want to go off and fact check that.

[Gromit]

Ymb,
If they want to relocate to save a shilling, let them. Of course they won't.

As with any tax, the objective is to raise money. So they will set the tariff at a sweet spot where the banks can't be bothered about it. If VAT was 90% the Government would raise less money, because people would avoid it. But at 20% it doesn't really affect purchasing. The FTT will be a pin prick to the banks.

[Quizmonster]

You're bothering these people with facts again, Gromit! Will you never learn?

[ToraToraTora]

"The City is not going to closedown and move to some Caribean Island over a 0.02% fee. " - but they will if we leave the EU? right oh!