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

http://www.euractiv.com/en/euro-finance/eu-builds-case-finance-tax-ahead-draft-proposals-news-506654

"Though there is little proof that a planned 0.25% levy on financial transactions will dampen speculation, Schulmeister is adamant that the maths will stand up and that speculation, such as credit default swaps used by hedge funds to bet against indebted governments, will take a hit if such a tax is implemented."

0.25%? Are you kidding me. Where did they get this number from? Everything I've seen mentioned either .05% or .01%. Maybe they've been talking to Defazio as that was his go to rate. 0.25% would kill everything (not that .05% wouldn't, lol)...

"However, the tax has one powerful opponent – the UK. Britain's opposition has not wavered as the country's government is adamant that it will not introduce new taxes at a time when banks are struggling to prove their liquidity."

I think you can safely add Sweden, Malta (yes it's a big banking center, the Netherlands and probably a few others to that list that oppose an EU only ftt... Not to mention that Germany's parliament recently voted against the ftt as well:)

-Guru
 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903554904576459310597648944.html

"A bank tax is unlikely to be part of the new aid package, Mr. Juncker said.
Germany and France have opted not to press for a bank tax to help finance the new rescue package for Greece, other people familiar with the matter said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy reached a late-night compromise over the fresh bailout for Greece after talks lasting around six hours in the Berlin chancellery, which were joined by Trichet."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge...gree-on-greek-deal-2011-07-21?dist=beforebell

"News reports Thursday morning said the negotiations saw France drop calls for a bank tax that had been estimated to raise as much as €50 billion over five years that would have been used to finance buybacks of Greek government bonds.
The Wall Street Journal, citing officials close to the talks, said a favored plan would instead see investors invited to swap existing holdings of Greek government bonds for new 30-year bonds with lower interest rates and credit enhancement."
 
Watching the discussion this week, I was reminded of this Factcheck page on this matter

1% Transaction Tax

September 8, 2010

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/09/1-transaction-tax/

Now one look at the date shows one dimension of this--does it need to be updated?

Can I remind folks that we live in a global economy right now, and even though right now based on the current constituency of those holding office in Washington it is nearly impossible to get something like this to pass, it has repeatedly been suggested here and only isn't as much now because it can't go very far given the backdrop.

Europe, however, is a different story....

So is there a case to be made that some of us write to Factcheck and ask them to treat this from a global perspective as well.

I just do want complacency to overtake this matter in ways which are unwarranted...

The global interest in this tax in some quarters gets very little to no press coverage in America.
 
Brazil Currency Market Sharply Weaker On Latest Forex Measures
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110727-710334.html

The measures include a 1% IOF financial transactions tax on derivatives trading, as well as authorization for an influential government panel to implement possible limits and deposits on derivatives positions. The measures follow the Brazilian real's ...
See all stories on this topic »

Brazil may experience a huge drop in transactions, beyond their goal.

Tobin tax leaves a bad taste
Financial Director
http://m.financialdirector.co.uk/financial-director/opinion/2096975/tobin-tax-leaves-bad-taste
By Peter O'Kelly, EDHEC-Risk Institute IN ITS BUDGET proposal for the period 2014-2020, the European Commission (EC) has included a levy on financial transactions, more commonly known as a Tobin tax. The text, which was presented by the president José ...
See all stories on this topic »
Financial Director
 
Sir, just because the UK is a firm opponent to any form of EU taxation does not mean that the FTT concept is overall ‘unpopular’. Momentum around an EU financial transaction tax has been growing in the last months with France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Portugal and Greece as well as more than 1000 economists and the European Commission publicly and explicitly expressing their support.Furthermore a very recent Eurobarometer poll (June 2011) of more than 27,000 people proved that Europeans are strongly in favour of a FTT (61%) and agree (80%) that if global agreement cannot be reached a FTT should initially be implemented in the EU.Estimates predict that a European FTT could raise up to €210bn annually and considering the aforementioned declarations of support, it would appear the tax is not as ‘unpopular’ as you describe.

Nicolas Mombrial, Oxfam International.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top