Written question asked by Julia Drown (Labour) on Friday, 10 March 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 March 2000. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 March 2000 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission a study into the feasibility of introducing a tax on currency transactions; 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.

Answer: Ms Drown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will commission a study into the feasibility of introducing a tax on currency transactions; [114712] (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 Johnson: The 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.

Secondary information