Richard Curtis and Bill Nighy team up in new film urging new tax on bankers

It could be a plot from one of his feelgood movies. Against a snowy London backdrop, something perennially ignored and unloved finds the attention it craves against all odds. Only this time, director Richard Curtis is hoping to sprinkle his stardust on an arcane bank tax rather than a lovelorn English fop.

Britain's most successful comedy writer is aiming to tap into the public's fury at how bankers are scooping huge bonuses while the rest of us suffer pay freezes by spearheading the launch of a campaign demanding the introduction of a "Robin Hood tax" on financial institutions.

Harnessing YouTube, Facebook and celebrity endorsements, Curtis has taken what was once regarded as a naive pipedream to tax a slice of every financial trade and given it a makeover. The Tobin Tax, named after the American economist who first suggested the idea, is now rebranded the Robin Hood tax.

The powerful new coalition of domestic and overseas charities, unions and church groups argue that a Robin Hood tax could generate $700bn (£450bn) worldwide. The tax would see 0.05% levied on each bank trade ranging from shares to foreign exchange and derivatives, creating a cash pile to be spent on measures to combat domestic and international poverty as well as fight climate change.

A slick advertising campaign by Empire Design features slogans such as: "This is the first tax you'll be in favour of" and "Small change for the banks, huge changes for the world".

The campaign has already lived up to its outlaw image. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the question "Do you want to be part of the world's biggest bank job?" was projected onto the Bank of England. From tomorrow, campaigners will ask Facebook networkers to don green Robin Hood style facemasks as a show of support.

www.robinhoodtax.org/