-Caveat Lector- > The Washington Times > www.washtimes.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---- > > > > U.N. seeks to tax international currency trades > > > Betsy Pisik > THE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished 1/31/01 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---- > NEW YORK The United Nations yesterday issued a sweeping list of > proposals to help the world's poorest nations cope with the effects > of > globalization, including an idea for a global tax on international > currency > transactions. > A 0.1 percent tax on $1.5 trillion worth of "speculative" > currency > transactions could yield $150 billion a year that could be used to > stabilize > volatile markets, said the report, compiled in collaboration with the > World > Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization > and > others. > Officials who drafted the report showed little enthusiasm > yesterday for > the measure, one of dozens that may wind up in a non-binding > agreement > nations will negotiate in March 2002. > "We have not recommended any such thing," Nitin Desai, the U.N. > undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs, said of the > global > tax, which is presented in paragraph 113 of the 64-page report and > touted in > its press kit. > Instead, he said, "It's one of the areas where the report is not > clearly making an explicit recommendation but simply saying that > someone has > said, 'Think about it.' " > He declined to elaborate on how such a tax would be collected, > administered or disbursed. Nor would he say whether U.N. > Secretary-General > Kofi Annan would endorse such a measure. > Reinhard Munzberg, the U.N. representative for the International > Monetary Fund, and Enrique Rueda-Sabater, a World Bank senior > manager, also > pointedly refused to endorse the suggestion, which apparently was > offered by > nongovernmental organizations and unnamed member states. > A panel of high-profile financial analysts, including former > Treasury > Secretary Robert Rubin and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, > is to > release its own recommendations next month. > The U.N. officials no doubt are stung by reactions to earlier > ideas for > world taxes. > Last year, the authors of the U.N. Development Program's annual > Human > Development Report suggested a special tax on Internet commerce and > messages. The suggestion presented in less than a sentence > overshadowed the > massive evaluation of human rights. > Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali derailed his hopes for a > second > term, in part, by suggesting in the mid-1990s that the United Nations > raise > funds by taxing international airline tickets. Largely because of > that, the > U.S. Congress made payment of $100 million in U.N. funds contingent > on the > organization's promise not to try to levy its own taxes. > "Among [private nonprofit organizations] there is a strong > sympathy for > a measure of this kind," said Danish Ambassador Jorgen Bojer. He said > his > own government was mildly interested in the idea but had decided it > was not > worth the political effort to pursue it. > The report released yesterday suggests scores of ways for the > industrialized world to lower trade barriers, encourage debt > forgiveness, > and direct capital and investment dollars to the poorest nations. > Developing countries are advised in the report to improve access > to > microcredit loans, provide better regulation of financial markets, > and > reform tax and banking measures. > The officials note that official development assistance > continues to > shrink well below a long-standing target of 0.7 percent of developed > countries' gross national product (GNP). The median in 1999 was only > 0.25 of > GNP, while the bulk of nearly $200 billion in private investment last > year > went to 20 nations. > Meanwhile, the world's poorest nations slid deeper into debt. > Total > debt equaled the total GNP in 1998 for the world's poorest countries. > World trade more than tripled to $5.4 trillion between 1995 and > 1998, > while exports from the least-developed nations accounted for $26 > billion, a > $2 billion increase in the same period. > > Copyright � 2001 News World Communications, Inc. All rights > reserved. __________________________________________________ Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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