1/4% Tax on all stock trades pushed in NY Times today

[Chicago_CTA]

Quote from bwolinsky:

Germans, what masochists. Let's just remove all the liquidity and severely restrict the flow of capital. Great plan. Oh, while we're at it, we should take a 5% haircut on every new brokerage account or financial account opened.

The May 6th stock market sell-off is GREAT NEWS for those opposing a market-killing tax on transactions.

The market crashed because for approximately 10-15 minutes nobody was buying shares; not the specialists; not the High-Frequency ("HF") firms; not the locals; not the retail investor, etc.

Without liquidity markets can and DO plunge. Should it come to debate, IMHO, the May 6th rout will serve as a useful example of what happens when liquidity is lacking.

A tax on transactions would have enormously deleterious effects on liquidity, almost ensuring more routs like the one pundits are trying to ascribe to "fat fingers."

In the end, a Transaction Tax is just another half-baked idea by so-called progressives and Keynesians, who have never themselves created JOBS or WEALTH.

 

[zdreg]

Quote from listedguru:

German finmin: no EU consensus for transaction tax:

http://www.xe.com/news/2010-05-18 07:26:00.0/1152749.htm?c=1&t=

BRUSSELS, May 18 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday he saw no consensus yet within the European Union for imposing a financial transaction tax.

Schaeuble told a news conference that an EU-wide financial transaction tax was an option only if ministers from the Group of 20 nations could not agree on one when they meet in June.

he G20 is going to agree to this and I highly doubt the EU would either. So I guess Germany is going to have to go it alone...

-Guru

"Well there is no way in hell "
really.

the UK has one and would be glad if everyone adopted a FTT.
the US congress and obama want to tax everything in sight.
Germany runs the show in Europe because the rest are nothing but economic weaklings.

you say "Well there is no way in hell"
give me appropriate odds based upon your statement. let's say 100 to 1. I will put up a thousand. I am sure that u can get pattern ,,, and some other pollyannas who agree with you to participate.

 

[listedguru]

Quote from zdreg:

"Well there is no way in hell "
really.

the UK has one and would be glad if everyone adopted a FTT.
the US congress and obama want to tax everything in sight.
Germany runs the show in Europe because the rest are nothing but economic weaklings.

you say "Well there is no way in hell"
give me appropriate odds based upon your statement. let's say 100 to 1. I will put up a thousand. I am sure that u can get pattern ,,, and some other pollyannas who agree with you to participate.

I could see a ftt happening in Germany but there is no way it's going at happen internationally at the G20 level. Even the IMF is opposed to a ftt (they came out against it again a couple of days ago).

-Guru

 

[listedguru]

Quote from Explorer:

WSJ refer more generally to a financial sector tax:

"They demanded the introduction of a financial-transaction tax or financial-activities tax. "

The FAT is one of the IMF's proposals.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100518-710735.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLEHeadlinesAsia

These piece mentions either a FTT or a financial activities tax. I'm sure they will most likely settle on the latter...

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-ma...alition-financial-tax-key-to-rescue-plan-vote

BERLIN -(Dow Jones)- The financial market sector must contribute to the costs of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis if the lower house of parliament is to approve Germany's share of the EUR750 billion euro rescue plan, senior officials from the country's center-right coalition parties said Tuesday.

"We have agreed in the coalition committee that the government will be asked to campaign for a European, global contribution of the financial markets--this means financial transaction tax or financial activities tax," said Volker Kauder, parliamentary floor leader of the ruling conservative parties.

"In addition, we will ask the government to also take national measures as quickly as possible, which for example, includes the ban of naked short selling, and we will promote the European rating agency," he said.

Such a tax should come on top of the bank levy that Germany plans to implement, the party officials said.

-Guru

 

[rc8222]

Quote from zdreg:

"Well there is no way in hell "
really.

the UK has one and would be glad if everyone adopted a FTT.
the US congress and obama want to tax everything in sight.
Germany runs the show in Europe because the rest are nothing but economic weaklings.

you say "Well there is no way in hell"
give me appropriate odds based upon your statement. let's say 100 to 1. I will put up a thousand. I am sure that u can get pattern ,,, and some other pollyannas who agree with you to participate.

I love how people freak to high heaven when countries like Germany call for a FTT. They have been calling for one for a long time. It's all posturing for the G20 summit coming up. Take your prozac and relax!!!!!! The U.S. , Sweden, Canada, and I'm sure a few others are opposed to a FTT. The IMF is not endorsing one either. They do propose bank/financial company activity type fees, but not a FTT on retail investors/consumers. Just because a few countries in the G20 support a FTT doesn't mean a damn thing.
Also, the U.S. alone would never pass a FTT. It would literally destroy the economy in NYC, IL, and other U.S. financial hubs. A FTT would have to be "ALL IN" globally for it to happen at all in the U.S. Which is why it won't be happening!!!

 

[listedguru]

More Merkel:

"Merkel Pressed on Financial Tax as EU Loans Plan Goes to Vote"

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...ancial-tax-as-eu-loans-plan-goes-to-vote.html

The three ruling parties agreed to pursue a financial transaction tax or a levy on financial activities, as well as a ban on naked short selling, Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, told reporters in Berlin today after a meeting of the party caucuses. He refused to give details or say which form of tax the ruling parties favored.

While European Union finance ministers considered pushing for a tax on all financial transactions, such a levy “can’t be achieved” without agreement to implement it globally, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters in Brussels today.

‘Serious Doubts’

“There are serious doubts whether this will happen on a global scale,” he said. In the absence of a global accord, a banking levy plus a tax on financial activity as proposed by the International Monetary Fund is a “sensible proposal,” he said.

If the International Monetary Fund supports a financial activities tax and I have a chance of implementing it but not the other tax, then I will decide for the one that I can get implemented,” Merkel said.

-Guru

Sounds to me like they know they that a FTT isn't going to happen

 

[traderjb]

I knew TARP was gonna gun for us, I just didn't realize it would be Euro TARP!

 

[zdreg]

Quote from rc8222:

I love how people freak to high heaven when countries like Germany call for a FTT. They have been calling for one for a long time. It's all posturing for the G20 summit coming up. Take your prozac and relax!!!!!! The U.S. , Sweden, Canada, and I'm sure a few others are opposed to a FTT. The IMF is not endorsing one either. They do propose bank/financial company activity type fees, but not a FTT on retail investors/consumers. Just because a few countries in the G20 support a FTT doesn't mean a damn thing.
Also, the U.S. alone would never pass a FTT. It would literally destroy the economy in NYC, IL, and other U.S. financial hubs. A FTT would have to be "ALL IN" globally for it to happen at all in the U.S. Which is why it won't be happening!!!

I have only seen on aoccasion people freaking on this issue. It is some people who think that a FTT is impossble who are freaking out because of the thought they may soon be flipping hamburgers. the one poster said no way in a hell it is going to happen. I asked him if he is willing to give me 100 to1 odds based upon his statement.I gave some reasons why it might happen. just a businessman's proposition. based upon your exclamation marks are you willing to give 100 to1 odds?
just as I said a businessman's proposition.

 

[andohmeeta]

The portent for Europe/UK's investment future:-

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64G31W20100517

 

[Stok]

I thought Germany was against a FTT?!? They where our ally...at least I thought..haven't been following the tax deal since it seemed DOA a few months ago. But, Germany now wanting a FTT does bug me. Since all of the EU is about to collapse, they are doing whatever the can to raise $.

When the EU and Euro collapse and take the world economy down, it can make this issue back on the table. Anyways, back to shorting the EUR