Shock Doctrine (Naomi Klein) •Crisis – natural or man-made •Disruption and distraction of civil society •Neoliberal agenda – policies and profit
Tunisia
Egypt
Across Europe
Portugal
Ireland
Spain
Italy
Greece
London
Paris
Wisconsin
Occupy LA
Indignados
Quebec students
The type of action that grows out of such networked protest movements is different from that taken by ‌ hierarchal organisations: it is sporadic, voluntary, time limited. At the point you don’t like it you break off; at the point it gets taken over, infiltrated, derailed, you stop and start again. (Paul Mason)
…what critics miss is the absolute congruence between modern work and this horizontalism, or networked organisation... Indeed… horizontalism mirrors in great detail the way people exist at work, and the way they actually work. It is the new structure of the corporation that forces us to live these multiple lives… (Paul Mason)
These movements are …trying – consciously or unconsciously – to form a counter-power within capitalism. …to carve out alternative, more civilised, more self-controlled social spaces.... (Paul Mason)
Financial transactions tax (Robin Hood Tax) and tax justice campaigns are not about endorsing current capitalist system, but are means to curb speculation and redistribute wealth from the 1% to the 99%.
Global forces of neoliberalism that undermine the common good require globalized forms of resistance and alternate solutions.
There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning. -Warren Buffet (world’s third wealthiest person in 2011)
The great tax robbery Many companies paying tax rates less than half what they paid in 1960s and 1970s.
Giant corporations that have basically stopped paying taxes General Electric; Boeing; Exxon Mobil; Verizon; Kraft Foods; Citigroup; Dow Chemical; IBM; FedEx; Honeywell; Apple; Pfizer; Google; Microsoft; Merck
Loss for the common good Tax Justice Network estimated that assets held offshore, beyond the reach of effective taxation, are equal to about a third of total global assets, about $21 trillion - $32 trillion. Over half of all world trade passes through tax havens.
FTT / Robin Hood Tax If applied globally, a financial transactions tax at a rate of .01% could raise over USD $1 trillion per year, or 2% of global GDP.
Pivotal moment for economic justice South and North understand “economic colonization” Global FTT and tax justice coalitions Community anger at austerity Widespread anger at inequality Anger at corporations for not paying fair share Media exposés (tax havens, corporate tax dodgers such as Google, Vodaphone, Starbucks, Apple…)
Loose international coalition Fluid, non-hierarchical Centre on common messages (values) Participatory but non-binding processes Regular international teleconference calls (free) Annual one-day strategy meeting People propose and take responsibility for different tasks (research, advocacy, event planning etc) Power of diversity Link local, national, international efforts
Common messages A financial transactions tax to end poverty and inequality through funding public services, sustainable development, and addressing climate change.
Tax justice for a fair share for all
G20 – Cannes
2012 joint unions & NGOs FTT strategy mtg • FEB: Common messages • MARCH: FTT myth-busting document (EN/FR/ES/PO) • MAY: FTT Global week of action & G8 - Chicago • JUNE: UN Rio+20 Earth Summit • JUNE: Robin Hood Tax campaign launch, USA • JULY: World Aids Forum FTT march, Washington DC • NOV: 1000 Robin Hoods, Durban, South Africa • ONGOING: lobbying of key EU states for an FTT
G8 – Chicago
Rio+20 Earth Summit
Robin Hood Tax USA launch
World Aids Forum, DC
PSI World Congress, SA
1000 Robin Hoods
2013 • FEB – global tax justice coalition meeting • MAR – World Social Forum - Tax Justice Charter • MAY – second global unions & NGOs meeting • JUNE – Pledge to support global movement for tax justice > World Public Services Day 23 June • JULY – Informal global strategy meeting • SEPT – ITUC Africa Forum • OCT – Asia Pacific Quality Public Services Forum
The World Needs Tax Justice & an FTT
Impact of cuts on tax collection/fraud Denmark - 28.7% cuts in staffing - losing tax revenue UK – 19.2% “by shedding more than 3300 staff, loss of £1.1 bn in potential tax revenue.” NL- 6.3% Reduce budget for tax and customs by 17% by 2015. Chance of a business being audited is once in every 43 years. Ireland – 13% cut to tax administration
EU FTT - January 11, 2013 Green light to proceed with implementation of a financial transactions tax under EU’s Enhanced Cooperation Procedure
European Union FTT / Robin Hood Tax 11 = Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain + possibles - Czech Republic and Croatia
Estimated that FTT will raise â‚Ź34 billion annually across the 11 EU countries
Impact of financial crash - Ireland From budget surplus of 1.2% of GDP in 2006 Ireland incurred a budgetary deficit of around 30% of GDP in 2011. Public services slashed and privatized. Unemployment rose from 6.5% in July 2008 to 14.8% by June 2012. The FTT could help turn the tide.
What’s in it for Ireland?! Estimates of FTT return of 700 million to €1.8bn annually A broad-based FTT could add over 3% of current government revenues – a significant boost to the Irish exchequer.
Irish people need not lose out on their fair share of a financial transactions tax Opportunity to mobilise now for Ireland to ‘opt-in’ to the EU FTT
Civil society and labour voices Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called for the FTT to deliver a ‘fair and substantial contribution from the financial sector.’