Life is a journey you are a producer ~ find a way around the tax ~ improve your trading to the degree you have the time you need to work on those other projects ~ work at producing the best year of your life for every year you have left. Do not for a single moment start rationalizing and justifying or looking for personal benefit within the actions of bureaucrats who are looking to remove freedoms and opportunity for hundreds of millions of people and destroy the livelihoods of tens of thousands more. This is no London stamp duty, its no less than throwing "sand in the wheels of finance" and they could not care less how much revenue it creates, low or high tax revenue, its just a good or bad PR opportunity to be forgotten about either way within weeks and with no one held accountable, no matter how much damage it causes. Back to the subject at hand.
This is simply another way for politicians to distribute power and money as they see fit. They pick winners and losers which gives them power and takes away power from those not in the government. As long as the world keeps electing leftists who love to centralize power, this type of thing will happen. Fortunately with the Relublicans taking control of Congress this is totally off the table (never really was seriously on the table here), for at least several more years.
Don't twist my words. What they are doing is wrong of course. I am only trying to look on the bright side.
I am not twisting your words I am responding with my interpretation, if you truly want to bend over and take it hard because such an experience has made you realize that you have "wasted the best yours of your life" then so be it. This thread is not really the place to be personal lets keep it on topic.
Your brain needs exercise. You tried to tell me what to do with my life and what to think and say. I'd call that personal. Hypocrite.
I can assure you it gets enough of that, by personal I was talking of the original post in which you were claiming the tax to be a good thing as it is serving the same purpose as a midlife crisis would, causing you to reflect upon how you spend your time, if extending an arm and telling you the best years of your life are not behind you, roar onwards, is telling you how to live your life and what to think, then so be it As far the tax is concerned its certainly never going to be a global affair, the liberal waste lands may fall, those with the will shall find a way.
Tax is not the solution to speculation. Speculation in stock market is just one form of it. If there is administrative ban on trading or excessive taxation then speculators will take their business somewhere else; be it physical goods, black market and so on. The issue of speculation becoming addiction or influencing personal life and career is a different issue that has to be dealt with on a different level. Looking for help in government that they will do it with taxation is not the solution to gambler personality. It is a serious issue and most people cannot deal with it by themselves. Doing some research, reading some literature on the topic or seeking professional help is a good starting point. Most important thing is realization that this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed. One thing I can agree on is that this tax will be implemented at some point but this is completely different issue having more to do with limiting free economic activity in favor of planned and restrictive economy controlled by limited number of people.
What is wrong with speculation? I do speculation all the time: shopping, romance, stock market, pension etc. I have even written "speculator" on my business card.
Group of 11 EU nations to miss deadline for tax on financial trades http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-eu-tax-idUKKCN0JF2AA20141201
That's what I've been saying for a long time, mainstream politicians don't care about anything besides their popularity. Bankers are bad in the public eye, yet they finance the politicians' campaigns, therefore the politicians can't really punish them without losing their financing. They can only seemingly punish the banking sector via a trade tax, from which the same "evil bankers" (as per the public opinion) will be exempt from. They will gain popularity while keeping their supporters happy. There's a saying where I come from which goes something like "the wolves have eaten while the sheep are still healthy", I think this applies if you look at the issue as politicians see it.