§ Ms DrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will commission a study into the feasibility of introducing a tax on currency transactions; [114712]
189W(2) if he will support the proposal to be put forward by Canada at the United Nations Special Session in Geneva for a further study into the feasibility of a currency transaction tax. [114713]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Government have no plans to commission a study into the feasibility of introducing a tax on currency transactions, and will consider any proposals from others for a study on their individual merits.
The Government believe the idea of a tax on currency speculation is, in principle, interesting, but has a number of practical drawbacks. In particular, it would be almost impossible to achieve global coverage, and there would be huge scope for avoidance.