Archbishop of Canterbury urges tax on financial transactions

The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday backed calls for a tax on financial transactions, saying it was one way to advance the “moral agenda” of protesters camped outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Writing in the Financial Times, Rowan Williams acknowledged that the demands of the anti-capitalist demonstrators installed outside the cathedral since October 15 were vague, but said there were real measures that could be taken.

These included a proposed EU tax on financial transactions which is backed by France and Germany but opposed by the United States and Britain, who argue that any such levy would have to be global not to skew financial markets. In a commentary that was also published on his website, Archbishop Williams said the tax was supported by experts “who cannot be written off as naive anti-capitalists – George Soros, Bill Gates” and rejected “exaggerated and sharply challenged projections” of its potential economic harm.