Sunday, December 06, 2009
Liberal Democrats in Congress are taking aim at Wall Street with new taxes to help pay down the deficit and stimulate new jobs for the economy. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) are introducing identical measures in the House and Senate that would tax financial transactions above $100,000 with the hope of raising $150 billion a year. The plans call for imposing a .02% tax on transactions involving futures contracts and credit default swaps, among others, and .25% tax on stock transactions. The lawmakers and their supporters say the money would go towards lowering the budget deficit and financing new employment in the construction industry
Retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, would be exempt from the tax, as would education savings accounts, health savings accounts and mutual funds.
“Last year, the U.S. taxpayer bailed out Goldman Sachs to the tune of $10 billion,” said Harkin. “This year, Goldman Sachs has set aside nearly $17 billion for bonuses. We need a shift in priorities in this country to ask not what America can do for Wall Street, but ask what Wall Street can do for America.”
The United States did have a stock transfer tax for more than 50 years, but it was repealed in 1966.
The proposals are expected to run into stiff opposition from the financial industry and the Obama administration. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has publicly said he opposes the idea of taxing Wall Street.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Defazio Calls for Tax on Financial Transactions but Critics Abound (by Charles Pope, The Oregonian)
DeFazio Introduces Legislation Invoking Wall Street 'Transaction Tax' (Congressman Peter DeFazio)
Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act of 2009 DeFazio/Perlmutter/Arcuri/Braley/Sutton (Congressman Peter DeFazio)
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