Make Speculators Pay

Forbes ^ | March 15, 2010 | Dean Baker

[SmokingJoe]

The reckless behavior of a severely bloated financial sector has given us the worst downturn in 70 years. Let's do something about it. Let's put a tax on hyperactive traders.

A financial transactions tax can be an effective tool for downsizing the sector and restoring it to its proper role in the economy so this sort of calamity does not happen again. The idea is to place a small tax on financial transactions to discourage speculation without hampering productive investment. Bills recently introduced in the House by Peter Defazio and in the Senate by Tom Harkin call for a 0.125% tax on each side of a stock purchase, with comparable rates on trades of other financial instruments like options and credit default swaps.

Computerization has brought transaction costs down sharply over the last three decades. Therefore this tax would be pushing trading costs only back to where they were in the 1980s and early 1990s. Both bills have exemptions for trades carried through by pension funds and other tax-sheltered accounts, ensuring that the overwhelming majority of small investors and people saving for retirement will be virtually unaffected by the tax.

Such a tax could raise close to $100 billion a year, depending on the extent to which trading declines in response to higher transaction costs. This money could be used to rebuild infrastructure, reduce other taxes and/or reduce the deficit. The revenue would come largely at the expense of excessive trading in the financial sector. This would yield two benefits: The tax would raise revenue and reduce the volume of speculative trading, which serves no productive purpose. Does rapid-fire trading create jobs or build the nation's capital? I doubt it.

[SmokingJoe]

Thoughts?

[1rudeboy]

Higher taxes are good, and never have unintended consequences.

[dljordan]

“Higher taxes are good, and never have unintended consequences.”

Absolutely! What could go wrong?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

How about a tax on taxes?/s

[1rudeboy]

Nothing that can’t be fixed by even higher taxes!

[Moonman62]

Terrible idea based on a false premise.

It's too bad we can't place a tax on the government for the bad behavior of politicians.

[Leisler]

Speculators=delusion busters.

No speculators=everything is just peachy.

[cynwoody]

Dean Baker is an idiot, obviously.

Taxation should be low, flat, and untargeted. Taxes should be strictly for the purpose of raising necessary revenue and should not be used to influence behavior.

The link, however, leads to a totally different article.

[Moonman62]

The government has held the economy hostage for so long, we’re seeing Stockholm Syndrome from Forbes.

[Myrddin]

No more damn taxes. This is touted as "punishing" speculative traders, but it really hits everyone. Just say NO.

[cynwoody]

Here's the correct link:

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0315/opinions-trading-tax-financial-transactions-on-my-mind.html

And a pic of the idiot commie ...

[SmokingJoe]

“The link, however, leads to a totally different article”

Oh dear. Apologies.
Correct link:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0315/opinions-trading-tax-financial-transactions-on-my-mind.html

[bruinbirdman]

"call for a 0.125% tax on each side of a stock purchase"

So when my dividends are automatically reinvested, The Obammunist is going to take an eighth of a percent?

Hussein is going to take 1/8% of every equity transaction for every pension plan contribution?

yitbos

[eeriegeno]

Last week he was on a ‘net worth’ tax......

[parsifal]

Darn good idea. I think we have lost contact with reality on the markets. There is a legitimate investment function and exchange function which are necessary to the country.

OTOH, gambling is not a real good thing. It tends to distort the market (and no it ain’t price discovery) cause problems.

Ask yourself, what is the purpose of buying at $10.00 at noon and selling at $10.20 at 2:00pm? No wonder corporations are so lousily managed.

parsy

[Hawthorn]

>> speculative trading, which serves no productive purpose <<

This sort of worthless verbiage looks exactly like what we've learned to expect from the likes of Harper's, The Nation, Mother Jones and The Worker.

Therefore it's truly disappointing that the otherwise respectable Forbes magazine would allow such leftwing nonsense to get thru the editorial process.

[bruinbirdman]

"Ask yourself, what is the purpose of buying at $10.00 at noon and selling at $10.20 at 2:00pm? "

2% profit every two hours will make anyone rich real quick.

yitbos (sign me up for $100,000 @ 1%/hr)

[Graybeard58]

As a long time subscriber to Forbes print edition, I gotta wonder if Forbes is smoking him some wacky weed to allow this crap in his magazine.

[Graybeard58]

This money could be used to rebuild infrastructure, reduce other taxes and/or reduce the deficit.

Well of course that's what the Kenyan will use it for. Does anyone doubt it?

[The Pack Knight]

I don’t know what he hopes to accomplish by discouraging trading other than to impair market efficiency and increase volatility.

Also, I would expect better from someone writing for Forbes than to buy into the false dichotomy between speculation and investment - though maybe I’m just naive about the quality of financial journalism at Forbes. All speculation requires an investment of capital, and all investments are speculative by nature.