tax, was later approved by the Belgian Federal Parliament in 2004. It has a two-tier rate structure consisting of a low rate financial transactions tax and an exchange surcharge at prohibitive rates. Special Drawing Rights On 19 September 2001, retired speculator George Soros put forward a proposal, issuing special drawing rights (SDR) that the rich countries would pledge for providing international assistance and the alleviation of poverty and other approved objectives. According to Soros this could make a substantial amount of money available almost immediately. In 1997, IMF member governments agreed to a one-time special allocation of SDRs, totaling approximately $27.5 billion. This is slightly less than 0.1% of the global GDP. Members having 71% of the total vote needed for implementation have already ratified the decision. All it needs is the approval of the United States Congress. If the scheme is successfully tested, it could be followed by an annual issue of SDRs and the amounts could be scaled up "so that they could have a meaningful impact on many of our most pressing social issues". Bank transaction tax Between 1982 and 2002 Australia charged a bank account debits tax on customer withdrawals from bank accounts with a cheque facility. Some Latin American countries also experimented with taxes levied on bank transactions. Argentina introduced a bank transaction tax in 1984 before it was abolished in 1992. Brazil implemented its temporary "CPMF" in 1993, which lasted until 2007. The broad-based tax levied on all debit (and/or credit) entries on bank accounts proved to be evasion-proof, more efficient, and less costly than orthodox tax models. It often applies to deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts, often including checking accounts. Automated Payment Transaction Tax In 1989, Edgar L. Feige proposed the synthesis and extension of the ideas of Keynes and Tobin by proposing a flat-rate tax on all transactions. The total volume of all transactions undertaken in an economy represents the broadest possible tax base and therefore requires the lowest flat tax rate to raise any required amount of revenue. Since financial transactions in stocks, bonds, international currency transactions, and derivatives comprise most of the Automated Payment Transaction (APT) tax base, it is in essence the broadest of financial transaction taxes. Initially proposed as a revenue-neutral replacement for the entire federal tax system of the United States, it could alternatively be considered as a global tax whose revenues could be used by