If Britain and America can move forward together, it's time for a financial transactions tax.

UK Guardian: The time is right for a financial transaction tax

From the discussions I had at a conference on the FTT in Washington DC in the last week and from the conversations I have had in Congress, I believe there is growing interest in the idea and a real diplomatic opportunity for Britain to strike an agreement with US policy-makers and secure a plan for the phased introduction of a financial transaction tax process simultaneously in Wall Street and London.

With 11 EU countries including France and Germany now opting for an FTT, the chancellor can either sit on the sidelines, or instead talk to the Americans and the new US treasury secretary Jack Lew about a joint approach that avoids the risk of traders playing one jurisdiction off against the other.

There are many lessons from the banking crisis, the most obvious of which is that the sheer globalised might of financial trading can overpower the plans and defences of individual nation states. Governments shouldn't just shrug and accept this fate – which is why George Osborne should champion a reform agenda to harness international financial markets so that they serve our societies and economies.

If Britain and America can move forward together so that Wall Street and London trades are simultaneously brought into a financial transaction tax regime, real progress could be achieved in safeguarding vital services and economic growth. It is time for our chancellor to wake up and seize the moment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/04/time-right-financial-transaction-tax

With other developed countries now adopting an FTT, this would be a great time for the US and the UK to do the same.