Dems offer legislation to tax financial transactions

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill



BY NAOMI JAGODA - 03/05/19 09:00 AM EST

Democrats are introducing legislation in the House and Senate on Tuesday to tax financial transactions, as lawmakers in the party examine various ways to raise more revenue.

Legislation is being introduced in the House by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who has offered similar bills in the past, and in the upper chamber by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

The House bill has the backing of a number of members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including the group's co-chairs, Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and prominent freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Under the legislation, sales of stocks, bonds and derivatives would be taxed at a rate 0.1 percent. The tax would apply to sales made in the U.S. or by U.S. persons, and initial securities issuances and short-term debt would be exempt.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/finance/432594-dems-offer-legislation-to-tax-financial-transactions

[NurseJackie]

1. Interesting.

[at140]

2. I have been for those for 2 decades

The current method of taxing capital gains is complicated, delays tax revenues, does not account for inflation and subject to easy fraud.
I have a stock bought 30 years ago, which has given out stock dividends, split twice. When I sell part of it, it is a book keeping nightmare.

We would be much better off to charge a transaction fee (any sensible % of $amount sold.
Just like sales tax. Eliminates nighmarish bookkeeping and eliminates errors an fraud in tax computation.

[Wounded Bear]

8. Yeah, it is wa-a-a-y past time when this should have been done...

Repubs will block it, of course, but we need to get it out there.

Time for Wall Street to pony up for their free ride.

[True Blue American]

19. The amendments

Are creatinq quite a hassle for the average person.

[yaesu]

3. The EU has pretty much the same tax on financial transactions, we had a securities transfer tax

from 1914-1966. I would like to see this become law but with the fascists in control, no chance.

[OnlinePoker]

11. It was a pretty pathetic tax and wasn't really worth the paperwork it caused.

Until 1932, it was 0.02% of the transaction (2 cents for every $100) and after 1932, 0.04% of the transaction.

[at140]

30. Eliminate Capital Gains tax and begin a Transaction Tax

Especially for stocks and mutual funds...

Above items can be held for decades during which stocks can split, issue stock dividends, etc.
It is crazy to expect investors/traders to keep records for decades.
IRS does not know what you really paid to buy the stock.
Cheaters can easily fudge their tax return.

Instead charge 2% transaction tax when any stocks/mutual funds are bought
and 3% transaction tax when any financial equity is sold, and forget capital gains.
Will eliminate fraud, simplify taxes, and reduce computerized trading and churning drastically.

[watoos]

4. Should have done this years ago.

These high speed trades need to be taxed, a lot of other countries do this.

[BlueIdaho]

5. I got nothing against this idea

But we should really be rolling back Billionaire tax cuts and increasing the Social Security maximum income cut off. I support a return to President Eisenhower’s taxing structure.

[Basic LA]

9. Exactly!

That's the way to go.

[PeeJ52]

6. I'd like to see safeguards to keep my pitiful IRA being taxed when I need to move it pending a crash

I can see the big traders finding a way to get around the tax. It wouldn't be fair to the retiree or 401k or IRA investor that occasionally wants to move between stocks and bonds due to market volatility to take a cut. Usually by the time they move their money, they have already lost a lot due to the market blowing up. Maybe they should allow a couple transactions a year without the tax.

[OnlinePoker]

10. If I remember right Hillary called for a high-frequency transaction tax

This would go after the computer programs that make trades in seconds and leave the small, infrequent trades alone.

[NCjack]

7. Yes. Should have happened in 1778. nt

[Qutzupalotl]

12. High-frequency trades distort the market against the small investor

in favor of large firms who can afford HFT equipment. They make money almost no matter what, so the average investor generally loses. This tax would stop or greatly reduce this practice, or at least raise money from it.

Ideally, the funds raised should go to a Wall Street bailout fund, since the industry won’t self-regulate. Any funds raised will tend to diminish over time as the HFT behavior gets corrected — something to consider if funds raised are allocated elsewhere.

[still_one]

16. I would hope it means a tax only if there are gains. If there is a loss, and they tax the sales,

that is nonesense

I would like to know how that applies to retirement accounts

Why not just get rid of the capital gains and pay normal tax rate on gains?

[Qutzupalotl]

21. The proposal is to tax each trade,

regardless of profit or loss, not at the personal level, but the broker or trader would pay it. I don’t think this is intended to replace or alter capital gains.

[still_one]

24. Got it. It won't pass, even though it would not involve much money for me st small people withs IRA

etc. I don’t The no it would have the intended results

[kimbutgar]

13. I started working In the financial industry in 1979 and they used to put a small fee on all stock

And bond Transactions and then in the 90's they disappeared. I also had to pay large capital gains tax when doing my taxes. Again now I pay less.

[efhmc]

14. So basically, Dems are doing their best to keep their campaign promises.

nt

[still_one]

15. Maybe I missed it, but I hope that means taxed on any gains, not on sales if there is a loss

[MichMan]

18. I beleive it is on every transaction regardless

Buy or Sell Gain or Loss doesn't matter

[True Blue American]

17. In my Email

From Sherrod Brown.

This is his plan.

https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/brown-unveils-plan-to-restore-value-of-work-in-america%20

[stuffmatters]

28. It'd be good to make this an O.P. too so more DUers see it.

I suspect the economically educated & wise Sherrod Brown is also supportive of a Wall Street Transaction Tax.

[True Blue American]

31. You have my permission to do that.

I have not done a top post yet.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

20. As long as this applies to the sales of securities and investment instruments, I'm okay with that.

There should perhaps be a dollar limited exemption for investments sold while held in personal 401-K, IRA, ROTH, etc. retirement accounts.

[Maxheader]

22. Don't tax my pitiful nest egg..go after the 1%ers...

Under the legislation, sales of stocks, bonds and derivatives would be taxed at a rate 0.1 percent.

[KWR65]

23. This is a terrible Idea.

People make money off of the dividends, sale and interest of financial transactions. We should create a Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the United States. They should raise the tax on sales of financial transactions earnings to 25% for those that make over $1M per year. So the first million is taxed at 15% but everything over $1M is taxed at 25% just like we do progressives taxes on income and a flat income tax for the Social Security and Medicare safety nets.

[benld74]

25. ROLL BACK the LAST 2 GOP tax cuts

[LogicFirst]

26. Why worry?

The republicans made this mess, and I do not believe that the democrats should come to their rescue. Let the Rs figure out how to increase revenue.

[LongtimeAZDem]

27. Until interest rates on savings come back up, this will be a disaster for seniors

[noneof_theabove]

29. FIETS....

This is my fix from 2017.
Financial Ingress Egress Tax System [FIETS].

Good bye IRS, H&R, lawyers, Optima Tax Relief, 1040, W-4, 1099,...... ad nauseam.

ALL TRANSACTIONS are taxed. NO EXCEPTIONS church, wall street, kid, houses, nikes,..... NOTHING !
This is run inside the banking computer system right along with all other posting to accounts.
1% ingress - deposits
1% egress -withdrawals
0% transfers like to savings or saving to checking.
This effectively is 2% total tax, yes, there are some that fall through the cracks but if they buy food with cash 1% tax.

Some $5 TRILLION per day [conservative] to $15 [stretching it] traverse the banking system each day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. This varies even down to the minute and definitely seasonal like holidays.

So 5T * 5 days * 52 weeks == $1,300 TRILLION per year.
2% tax == $26 TRILLION per year to RUN EVERYTHING !

Current budget is $3.8T and expected to exceed $4.2T so this is some 7x the current income with $22T left over.

Health care - done
Veteran care and respect - done
Education [even a PhD or truck driving school] - done
$24 TRILLION national debit GONE 2-3 years [divided up]
Infrastructure - done
Elections [all local state national] paid for - buh bye PACs

Now in some IRS will be needed to monitor the system and a small off the top percent paid to the banking system to keep this piece running [heck they already have the equipment just a few lines of code].
As thing level out a review by Congress/IRS can determine to change the rate yearly.

Oh, I retired in 2014 on $50,000 [52 really] and taxes were about $8000 and I got back about $800 [no deductions].
So this will result in just $1,000 by me being paid and that yields a REAL pay increase of about $585 per month.
Think about what that means to you $25,000 = $290 $100,000 = $1070 and NOT A REFUND - money every month.

Why does it work? KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid..... EVERYONE PAYS THE SAME PERCENT - PERIOD - FULL STOP !

Pass this to your Congress Critters and DEMAND our Constitutional Right of EQUAL TAXATION FOR ALL !


-by wap3 [I have documentation of this idea in 2017]

[DeminPennswoods]

32. IIRC, either Wm Gray or Chaka Fattah

proposed a very similar system years ago.