h/t Dr. Willie Soon; In the wake of the Aussie, New Zealand and Canadian climate ministers demanding a new Bretton Woods, the French President has also requested a slice of the action.
Macron calls for an international taxation deal to finance climate efforts
The French president wants an international effort to raise money to tackle climate change.
BY CLEA CAULCUTT, GIORGIO LEALI AND PAUL DE VILLEPIN
JUNE 23, 2023 12:37 PM CETPARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hinted at a fresh push to revamp the international taxation system to finance climate efforts.
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“I’m in favor of an international taxation to finance efforts that we have to make to fight poverty and in terms of climate [action]…It doesn’t work when you do it alone, the [financial] flows go elsewhere.” Macron said during a press conference at the end of the two-day summit in Paris, dismissing the idea that France could introduce a climate tax on its own.
“France already has in place two types of taxes that have been suggested: one on plane tickets, another on financial transactions,” he said adding that he was going to “make others follow us and mobilize” around these issues.
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“There has been a great deal of discussion on the idea of international taxation, over and above what countries and institutions are doing. Whether it’s on financial transactions, maritime transport or certain other models, it will only work if it’s truly international, and so it presupposes an agreement, as we’ve been able to do on international taxation,” he said during the closing ceremony of the summit.
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Given the ongoing US dollar dominance of the global economy, Macron’s proposed financial transaction tax is effectively a call for US taxpayers to fund the global green energy push.
Before you dismiss Macron’s call as absurd, consider the situation from Europe’s perspective. The USA is a long term provider of money to Europe. The USA is largely funding Europe’s war with Russia, and has been underwriting much of the European defence budget since WW2.
I’m not sure what the USA gets in return for this generosity. Europe has openly committed to remaining neutral if the USA needs help.
Perhaps Macron is testing the water, to see if US politicians can be manipulated into providing even more money.