Todd Harrison (Minyanville) wrote this today: For what it's worth and so it's said, I heard from two very credible (separate) sources that the trading tax is DOA. That's good news, Yo. -Guru
Great news, if true, with the Defazio bill. Now the larger one related to healthcare with the 43 cosponsors needs to get nipped. Obama is supposed to be talking about healthcare either this week or next week. I hope he's not supporting that bill.
From everything I've read regarding Obama's healthcare stance it differs from this HR 676. It appears that this bill has been floating around in one form or another since 2005 but I think the trans tax was just added to it sometime in 2008. I think we'll be okay on all fronts... -Guru
Congressman Paul Ryan(R) on Fast Money says that in 2011 taxes across the board esp. on capital/investment will go up. Maybe this is when the trans tax will have a real shot at becoming law...
"When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I was not a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out." - Pastor Martin Niemoller Good luck with that ostrich approach, Dr Z. You really think that if they close down daytraders, floor traders, scalpers, that they'll stop there? They won't stop there, they will just become emboldened. To them you're a speculator, a parasite just as much as someone tick-fucking GS for a living - arguably more so, since longer-term traders don't provide as much liquidity. If they can close down daytrading and floor trading with a transactions tax, or a "hedging only" bill, they can close down speculating by introducing an "unearned income" tax, or minimum holding periods, or some other economic monstrosity. Rats will eat their own kind, sometimes not even waiting for the moment of death before turning cannibal and feasting on the still-living body of their fellow rat. It would be a shame if traders started emulating that kind of behaviour.
http://www.finalternatives.com/node/7043 February 24, 2009 STA Opposes Proposed Congressional Bill H.R. 1068 By John Giesea, President and CEO, STA -- The Security Traders Association (STA), the leading advocacy and education organization for professional equity traders in the U.S., is stating its strong opposition to a bill introduced by Congressman Peter DeFazio, H.R. 1068 the âLet Wall Street Pay for Wall Streetâs Bailout Act of 2009.â............ There's no such thing as a "NO" vote. They will keep trying.
The quickest way to explain this tax to those outside the trading world imo is: This tax is not small; .5% of a TOTAL INVESTMENT tax is really a 10% TAX if that investment makes 5%. Don't be fooled by the language.
I was just looking at the two previous iterations of HR 676, and they both contain the transaction tax (see section 211). Luckily, neither made it out of committee, so there's no reason to think the newest one will either. Here are the links to the previous two: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-676 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-676
This is true if the turnover rate is 100% per year. But the actual market average turnover rate is 270%, that is, the average holding period is 4 and half month.The tax is huge. 0.5% is 27% if your investment makes the same 5% gain by the average turnover rate for the year.
i have a better idea. tax the laid-off auto workers that get full salaries for sitting on their asses per the UAW contract. arrest the people who did liar loans and require them to make restitution. dig up Kenny Boy and have his corpse do a world tour to help pay f0r the Enron mess. see, there are lots of optiosn before the trader tax. the best thing woud be if it passes to just plain boycott US markets. the tax kills ST trading anyway, just like the take-out & breakage killed hose racing. once they get the tax approved, the rate will only go hiugher.:eek: