Transaction tax only works globally: Swan

SYDNEY (AAP) - Oct 04 - Treasurer Wayne Swan believes a financial transaction tax can only work if it is taken up globally.
The Australian Greens have been pushing the federal government to pursue a financial transaction tax, as has been proposed in Europe.
Mr Swan told a government-hosted tax forum in Canberra on Tuesday that such a tax is under discussion through the Group of 20 (G20) of developed and developing nations.
But he said while Europe had it on the agenda, it was not going to be used to fund an environment program or development in the third world.
"They're actually on the agenda in Europe to raise money because they're in a diabolical position when it comes to their budget bottom lines," he said.
"It's actually been talked about in the terms of survival of banking systems in Europe."
He said there is also a debate about whether such an impost on financial transactions was a progressive tax or not, or whether it worked effectively.
"But before we even get to that, the only way a financial transaction tax can work is that it is truly international, taken up globally," he said.