Government
"La taxe Tobin inscrite dans la loi belge?", Patrick Van Campenhout, La Libre Belgique
"Anything can be taxed, even the air which one
breathes -- but it is necessary for all the countries
concerned to apply the same tax."
-- Didier Reynders, Minister for Finance of Belgium, May 2004
"Exchange market volatility and securities transaction taxes", OECD
Economic
Outlook 71, 2002.
"Unless [the Tobin tax] is applied on a worldwide basis, it is unlikely
to be effective."
"The Tobin Tax: a matter for careful thought", The
ACP-EU Courier (European Commission), March 2002.
"The tax might be easily avoided if it were only levied in some countries."
"EC study raises Tobin tax hopes", The Guardian, September 24, 2001
"'We support [the Tobin tax] as a means of raising development finance,'
one [British Treasury source] said. However, the Treasury is concerned
that the tax would not deter speculation unless set at a high level, and
that this would result in transactions being taken offshore."
Academia
"Tsunamis: the catastrophe makes re-appear the idea of a "Tobin"-style tax, Le Temps, Geneva, SwitzerlandOlivier Pastré, professor of economics at the University of Paris VIII, said: "If France set up a tax on the movement of capital, it is clear that the capital would leave the country. It is enough that there is only one country which does not want to play the game to block the whole system."
Media
Too much of a good thing?, Financial Express - New Delhi,India, 12/14/2004"A 'Tobin tax' would be easy to dodge by moving currency trades to countries that do not tax them."
"Belgien setzt auf Tobin-Steuer", Deutsche Welle, 07.07.2004
"There is a danger of capital flight to untaxed countries."
"Let's all tax together in harmony", John Grieve Smith, The Observer,
August 24, 2003
"[A Tobin tax] would only be practical, however, if all the countries with
major financial markets agreed."
"Economics: Debate: Turn to the Tobin alternative", Geoff Harcourt, The
Guardian, October 22, 2001
"UK AT LOGGERHEADS WITH FRANCE OVER TAX ON SPECULATORS", The Independent, September 11, 2001
"One senior London currency trader said any tax would be 'simply unworkable'. 'If it were introduced it would have to be done globally,' he said. 'But if, say, the European Union agreed to do it alone, that would automatically push the business to places such as Singapore or the Bahamas and it would just go off- shore.' He added it would require the agreement of all developed countries in the world."
"Tobin's 'Nessie' rears its head again", Gary Duncan, The Times of London, September 10, 2001
"In any case, the Tobin tax founders on feasibility. The principal problem is that unless it were universally applied it could be readily avoided: trading would simply migrate from the main dealing centres, now dominated by London, to offshore tax havens."
'TOBIN TAX' GAINS GLOBAL CURRENCY, Rupert Cornwell, Independent on Sunday, September 2, 2001
"Were Britain were to sign up, the primacy of London could be jeopardised and currency trading would probably migrate to offshore havens."
"US opposed to tax aimed at curbing speculators", Financial Times, August 30, 2001
"International financial markets are now so mobile that it would be relatively easy for currency dealing to escape to offshore tax havens."
"OUTLOOK: JOSPIN JUMPS ON TO ANTI-GLOBALISATION BANDWAGON", The Independent, August 30, 2001
"Can you imagine the extent of brotherly love that would need to break out among nations to get this one up and running, let alone the problems of enforcement in a world where the moment capital is taxed, it simply up sticks and moves offshore?"