More than 30 prominent non-governmental organisations, trade unions and faith groups are calling on the British Government to adopt the Tobin Tax as a step towards fighting global poverty.

On 13 March, Tobin Tax Day, the Tobin Tax Network, will submit the declaration to the Treasury calling on it to support the introduction of a tax on currency speculation.

The Network includes Anti-Slavery International, ActionAid, Oxfam, Save the Children, War on Want, World Development Movement, UNISON and the GMB.

According to War on Want, a Tobin Tax would raise an estimated US$50 billion to $300 billion that could be spent on development programmes. Poverty is one of the factors key to the perpetuation of slavery.

The French Government recently passed a law authorising the implementation of the Tax and Belgium is expected to follow from 13 March.

According to the declaration, over 1 trillion dollars changes hands every day on global foreign exchange markets. Most is speculative, buying and selling money for profit's sake. This currency gambling is not part of any genuine trade or investment and it can result in basically healthy economies collapsing in a very short time frame.

The Tax is named after Nobel laureate James Tobin who, in 1972, proposed governments levy a small tax on foreign exchange transactions as a way to discourage destabilising speculation. Tobin, also a former adviser to President John F. Kennedy, died on Monday 11 March 2002.