Sean, you seem to be well versed in the economics arena, could you explain simply what this proposed tax would do…? Is Cameron right in saying it only makes sense if it was rolled out worldwide (which won’t happen), and if France does go it alone does that make it a less attractive place to do business?

What a wonderfully apt quotation from W.Churchill,as relevent today as it was back many decades ago. Its apparent the worlds leaders are bereft of ideas and solutions that are acceptable to all concerned. Still they bicker and look to be ‘one up’ over other leaders.Im sure there are solutions and/or ideas to shake this political turmoil into clearer waters,its just a case of being humble enough to accept others ideas and show you are but only human!

Just as Irelands low corporate taxes attracted FDI to Ireland, nations which adopt a Tobin tax will see financial services companies move to nations with more attractive tax regimes.
Sarkosy & other European leaders don’t seem to recognise that the ultimate solution to this crisis is growth and that a tobin tax would be a retrograde step in achieving this.

and yet all the countries that are bailing us out do the exact opposite, they have more tax than us, but massively higher public services and supports. They have higher standards of living and lower unemployment. We followed the Thatcherite/Reagan low tax, borrow and spend model, put a gombeen twist on it via the PD’s and look at where we are now. Look at the debt that the English and Americans have.

Core nations and Britain are attempting to bail out their own banks by providing funding to Ireland which our taxpayers will service.
Their own economies are in a very precarious situation with very high levels of public borrowing and banks which they will have to recapitalize if the PIIGS nations fail to.
We should be looking to nations like Canada or Sweden to identify a route out of this crisis.
A brief economic history of Sweden attached.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576104023432243468.html

@Hank I think the idea behind a Tobin tax is primarily to reduce the volatility of speculative markets, rather than to raise revenues. Many speculative transactions would be much less likely to be profitable, and would therefore not take place. This would be a good thing because speculation often causes inflation and instability for the benefit of a financial elite, and doesn’t generate any real wealth.

I’m not sure that France alone implementing such a tax would be very effective though, companies are too free to shop around for tax regimes that work in their favour.