Two interesting proposals have recently emerged in an attempt to save thousands of lives in poor countries who are suffering from fatal diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. First, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives from 95 countries gathered in Paris today to study France's "once-ridiculed" proposal to tax international air tickets to raise money for anti-retroviral drugs. http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=35921
Another initiative came from the U.S., along with Switzerland and Singapore, proposing to eliminate tariffs on essential medicines under the current Doha trade talks. U.S. ambassador to the WTO Peter Allgeier said that "It is ironic that many of the countries that are in urgent need of cheap medicines also have a significant tax added to the drugs and the medical devices they import." http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27373628.htm
These two proposals, although serving the same purpose, tend to contrast each other. One is basically a redistribution mechanism in the global dimension. Perhaps, this would be the first global tax in its true form. Some might entertain a wild imagination of "World Government." On the other hand, the U.S. proposal seems to be premised on a more liberal (or liberitarian) ground. Certainly, trade liberalization can play a role here, but what about the loss of tariff avenues by poor countries which is a critical source of hard currencies to them? Will rich countries compensate such loss?
