Greetings All;
In reading the forums here I have seen that the Tobin / transaction tax of up to 1/4% of the total price of each purchase or sale, has been mentioned recently in the news media as a potential source of revenue for some of the new bills, from Tarp to healthcare, and it seems if enacted it could be problematic for the trading community. Personally I feel a national sales tax to share the sacrifice evenly would be best, but we will see how things progress.
My question is: do other countries like Canada, Britain, or in Europe and Asia, with their own stock exchanges, have taxes specifically on trading, and what form do they take? Are they taxes on profits, capital gains, or perhaps a flat fee per transaction similar to brokerage fees now, or more like the transaction tax model being discussed? I am interested in how other governments tax the trading business, and if some of the countries are complicated taxation environments, what strategies would be employed to survive and thrive in such situations?
In reading the forums here I have seen that the Tobin / transaction tax of up to 1/4% of the total price of each purchase or sale, has been mentioned recently in the news media as a potential source of revenue for some of the new bills, from Tarp to healthcare, and it seems if enacted it could be problematic for the trading community. Personally I feel a national sales tax to share the sacrifice evenly would be best, but we will see how things progress.
My question is: do other countries like Canada, Britain, or in Europe and Asia, with their own stock exchanges, have taxes specifically on trading, and what form do they take? Are they taxes on profits, capital gains, or perhaps a flat fee per transaction similar to brokerage fees now, or more like the transaction tax model being discussed? I am interested in how other governments tax the trading business, and if some of the countries are complicated taxation environments, what strategies would be employed to survive and thrive in such situations?