British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told finance ministers from the Group of 20 rich and developing countries it was time to consider a global financial levy, such as a tax on transactions or an insurance fee, that could support a "resolution fund" that could serve as a buffer against future bailouts.
In its last meeting as chair of the Group of 20 before South Korea takes over next year, Britain is attempting to push through discussion of issues it views as critical to future world economic growth.
Brown superseded his Treasury chief Alistair Darling to address officials directly, saying it was time to consider whether banks needed "a better economic and social contract" that reflected their responsibilities to society.
But he said Britain would not act alone in imposing any tax, and that any measures must be implemented by all major financial centers. Britain, the U.S., Germany and other countries have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money to rescue financial companies that suffered heavy losses from risky investments.
Brown's comments bolster earlier calls from former German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck for a global tax on all cross-border financial transactions.
Critics argue that measures such as the so-called Tobin tax — a flat tax on currency transactions named after the Nobel Prize laureate James Tobin — would just dry up world financial flows. Supporters suggest the money could be used to protect countries from spillovers of financial crises.
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