Bank tax goes down at G20

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A proposal to levy a tax on bank transactions, urged by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has been rejected by the United States, officials say.

Brown asked world financial leaders at the Group of 20 summit to consider putting a tax on financial transactions. The money would go into a global fund and would be used to bail out failed banks. This would protect taxpayers and make banks more accountable, Brown said.

But U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is not in favor of the proposal, Britain's Sky News reported Saturday.

It was "not something that we're prepared to support," Geithner said. The secretary's rejection of Brown's proposal almost certainly means the death of the plan, Sky News said.

The plan's chances were dealt a further blow when leader of the International Monetary Fund called it unworkable.

The G20 summit is being held at St. Andrews, Scotland. The group of finance ministers and central bank governors was established in 1999 to discuss key issues in the global economy.