The American economist James Tobin first made the suggestion for a tax on currency transactions to dissuade short term currency speculation in the 1970s. Recently the idea of a more general 'Tobin-like' tax on financial transactions has been discussed, in the wake of the global financial crisis, and the desire to recover the considerable costs of public bailouts given to this sector. This note gives some historical background to the issue, while a second note (SN06184) looks at recent developments.

The American economist James Tobin first made the suggestion for a tax on currency transactions to dissuade short term currency speculation in the 1970s. Recently the idea of a more general 'Tobin-like' tax on financial transactions has been discussed, in the wake of the global financial crisis, and the desire...