Multi-Million Bank Collapse in Dublin – This is why we need a Robin Hood Tax

A bank that had a 2 euro billion hole in its accounts has collapsed in Dublin – but there is barely a word about it in the Irish media. They do not want to embarrass the government before a General Election.

Bloomberg has reported that the Russian owned VPB banks was closed down by its country’s authorities after its management were found to be pilfering the profits.
VPB operated as a shadow bank in the Irish Financial Services Centre. It had no employees but was registered at the office of an Irish company, Cafico, which helps set up ‘special purpose vehicles’ for a host of global corporations.
A ‘shadow bank’ is a bank which operates without regulatory oversight. The term ‘special purpose vehicle’ is often used when such entities are set up.
But how was a Russian bank allowed to get away with trading in millions of euro without oversight from the Irish authorities?
Ireland operates as the ‘wild west’ of financial speculation and offers the global speculators a respectable address for ‘light touch’ regulation.
Ireland covers up for the Shadow Banks.

According to Bloomberg, ‘There are about 2,100 companies in Ireland set up under the legislation that governs SPVs, including some 1,400 since 2010. Even tax authorities don’t know how many assets these firms hold, he said.’
These entities are sometimes let pretend that they are owned by charitable trusts so that they pay no tax on their profits.
People Before Profit wants to end this scandalous situation. We are the only party to call for a Robin Hood tax on financial peculation.
Even Sinn Fein considers this measure too radical and did not include it in its manifesto.
A Robin Hood tax means that banks like VPN would pay a tiny 1% tax when it bought the government or corporate bonds. That would generate about 700 million euros –almost enough to pay for the abolition of the water tax and home tax
Yet as well as bringing in millions for the hard pressed Irish tax payer, such a tax would cast a light on the shadow banks. They would be forced to file tax returns and to indicate the trading they were doing.
And that would help put an end to the criminal activity that some are engaged in.

DUBLIN BASED BANK COLLAPSES – BUT NO WORD IN MEDIA
A Russian based bank called VPB bank has collapsed after a 2 billion euro black hole was found in its accounts. Yet even though it is located in the IFSC in Dublin, there is barely a word spoken about it in the mainstream media. They do not want to embarrass the government before a general election.
The bank was closed after the Russian authorities discovered that its management had been pilfering the profits.
Bloomberg has reported that this bank was trading in huge sums but was not properly regulated by Irish authorities.
Ireland has 2,100 shadow banks and 1,400 of these were set up since 2010. The Revenue Commissioners claim they do not know how much they have in assets.
People Before Profit want to impose a Robin Hood tax on banks like VPB. It would bring in an estimated 700 million euro a year in tax and pay for the abolition of water and property taxes. It would also make the activities of these shadow banks more transparent.