From Bloomberg
When will this madness end? Never. Because there will always be delusional people
When will this madness end? Never. Because there will always be delusional people
The Illinois proposal would impose a tax of $1 per contract for transactions where an agriculture product is the underlying commodity and $2 per contract for everything else, including futures and options. The bill exempts trades in retirement accounts and those involving a mutual fund.
Regarding the tax’s effect on trading costs, “this is an 800 percent increase on the traders that trade on our exchange today,” Duffy said. “Would they move their business? Absolutely.”
Duffy said CME has the flexibility to leave the state, skirting the tax. CyrusOne Inc. recently agreed to buy the company’s primary data center just outside Chicago -- the facility where the exchange in essence now lives. CME is now allowed to use any of CyrusOne’s data centers. “If we need to leave Illinois because of any irrational decisions coming out of the state legislature that could affect our business, we have 29 data centers to choose from,” he said.