In the run up to the Budget later this month, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has produced an excellent report showing how a Robin Hood Tax could raise £20 billion a year in the UK, helping to minimise the Government’s cuts package and to take action on climate change and global poverty. It received the enthusiastic editorial support of the Daily Star, of all papers, as well as a supportive piece in the Daily Mail.

The report shows how a VAT rise – which has yet to be ruled out – would raise only half that, and would fall disproportionately on the poor – whereas a Robin Hood Tax would fall mostly on the rich. The TUC has consistently argued that a Robin Hood Tax is the best option for poor, working and middle class families – better than cuts, and better than other tax rises. And it would also rewrite the social contract between the finance sector and the rest of society. What’s not to like?

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