Chancellor George Osborne has been branded “the Sheriff of Nottingham” for his attempt to legally block 11 other European countries from exacting a financial transaction tax on banks.
UNISON is urging its members to sign an online petition to the chancellor, urging him to back down from his legal challenge.
The UK has refused to sign up to the tax, which was approved by the EU in January and could raise billions of Euros each year for the countries taking part, including France and Germany.
Not content with the missed opportunity, Mr Osborne has now lodged an application with the European Court of Justice, challenging the decision of those countries to levy the tax themselves.
His concern is that the tax could be imposed on British firms trading with businesses based in countries which do adopt it.
“Not only has the Conservative-led coalition ensured that UK taxpayers will not benefit from the £30 billion that this EU-wide financial transaction tax could bring into the UK, but George Osborne is now using the courts to try to take this away from the 11 European countries which have signed up,” UNISON international officer Polly Jones said today.
“UNISON members want a fair and equitable taxation system which can support quality public services for all. A tax on financial transactions should be a part of that.”
The Robin Hood Tax campaign, which has been calling for a UK financial transaction tax since 2010, stated on its website: “Make no mistake, this is not about defending British interests in Europe – it’s about defending the interests of this government’s friends in the City of London.
“This legal challenge should be seen for what it is: a desperate, last-ditch effort to protect the obscene profitability of our bloated financial sector.”
UNISON is about to launch a campaign with the Robin Hood Tax, calling on local councillors to pass motions on the tax at their councils.
In the meantime, Ms Jones urged members to put pressure on the chancellor to back down.