Tue, Mar 19, 2024
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Alternative Market Briefing

A financial transaction tax in the US, could it happen this time?

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

The Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) is back on the table in the US. Members of congress have, steadily proposed one version of the tax or another, each year since 2009, although since congress is only focused on absolute dysfunction, the bills have yet to make it out of markup. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), reintroduced the measure on February 28, causing editorial pages from all corners of the media universe to spring to life voicing mostly opposition to the idea. However, many of the arguments are weak, and given that financial transaction taxes are in place globally already, and set to expand in the EU, opponents may find themselves on the losing end of this battle.

Historical precedent

London has had a financial transaction tax on the books since 1694, it’s one of the oldest taxes continuously enacted in the UK, and made it to the US early on. The US levied an FTT from 1914 to 1966 on stock sales at a rate of 0.1% at issuance and 0.04% on transfers. Even now, the US still has a miniscule transaction tax - the Section 31 fee of 0.0034% on stock transactions. That fee goes to fund operating costs for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The measure proposed by Senator Harkin and Representative DeFazio, seeks to impose a 0.03% tax on most non-consumer financial trading including stocks, bonds and other debts, except for their initial issuance. The tax would also cover all......................

To view our full article Click here

Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. KKR raises $6.4bn for the largest pan-Asia infrastructure fund[more]

    Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The New York-based global investment firm KKR has raised a record $6.4bn for its second Asia-focused infrastructure fund, underlining investors' continued appetite for private markets. According to a media release from the alternative assets manager, the figure top

  2. Bucking the trend, top hedge fund makes plans for a second SPAC[more]

    From Institutional Investor: SPACs aren't dead. At least not to the folks at Cormorant Asset Management. The life sciences firm, whose hedge fund topped its peers in 2023, is confident it will match the success of its first blank-check company. Last week, the life sciences and biopharma speciali

  3. Benefit Street Partners closes fifth fund on $4.7 billion[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Benefit Street Partners has closed its fifth flagship direct lending vehicle, BSP Debt Fund V, with $4.7 billion of investable capital across the strategy. Benefit Street invests primarily in privately originated, floating rate, senior secured loans. The fun

  4. 4 hedge fund themes that are working in 2024[more]

    From The Street: A poor earnings report from Tesla (TSLA) has not hurt the indexes on Thursday. The decline in Tesla stock, which is losing its position in the Magnificent Seven pantheon, is more than offset by strong earnings from IBM (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) . In addition, the much higher-t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: A global macro fund eyes opportunities in bonds[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York for New Managers: Munich-based ThirdYear Capital rebounded in 2023, following a tough year for global macro. The firm's flagship ART Global Macro strategy finished the year up 1