I call on the financial stock community blogosphere to come together and fight the 0.25% stock transaction tax. We must call our Congressmen and flood their email boxes to let them know how much of a horrible idea this is. The pro-tax momentum is increasing as a result of this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/opinion/13herbert.html">New York Times Op-Ed</a> last week. If you read the comment section, you will see how many people are scarily supporting it without any regard for the unintended consequences. Currently it is being considered for the stimulus bill. It was actually in the original TARP bill and was taken out. However now with the Democrats fully in charge and the anti-Wall Street feelings at an all-time high, they don't need the Republican votes to pass it. Note I voted for Obama, so please cool any partisan rhetoric. If this passes, we all know what will happen. It will drive millions of active investors out of the market as it makes it uneconomic for them to trade. This will lower liquidity and make it more expensive to enter and exit positions for everyone. We all know what it is like to buy and sell an illiquid stock. Imagine that for the whole market. Disastrous. The added price volatility from the illiquidity will hurt market confidence even more and further the exodus of other investors, which will in turn drive the market even lower. The net tax gain for the Government tax coffers may even be negative as investors stop trading and it lowers any short-term capital gains revenue. Politicians are in panic desperation mode right now where they are willing to try anything. Let's stop them from pouring gasoline on the raging fire. UPDATE: Here's a link <a href="https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml">to contact your Congressman</a>. Here are the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm">links</a> to the Senators. UPDATE2: Larry Summers, head of the Obama economic team, wrote a paper in support of a stock transaction tax in the past. God help us. Here <a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/p016371m624r6742/">is a link</a> to the synopsis of his paper. UPDATE3: The large Wall Street firms and mutual funds will ask for exemptions to this tax and likely receive it due to their lobbying power and money. This will leave the brunt of the burden to us, the small investor.
i hope its imposed on yanks only anyway ur founding fathers gave u guns for a reason, if its imposed you must use it.
its all nonsense better to study and become a better trader www.historycentral.com/1812/NewOrleans.html
If they pass it, it would be bad. However I'm really worried as they might make the tax increase retroactive to all trades done in 2009. I've traded a lot the last few weeks, I would be be totally screwed. Imagine a 0.5% tax hit for EVERY round-trip you did this year. Retroactive tax increases have happened both on the Federal and State level because it is easier to implement for the entire year of 2009, vs. just after the bill passes in mid-February. Sigh.
Beside contacting your congressman, call your online brokers. Tell them to tell their CEOs to use their lobby power to fight this thing. This will destroy the active trading business of every online broker: Schwab, Fidelity, IB, TD Ameritrade, every single one would get hurt badly due to this if it passes.
No thanks. If a small tax kills small-time liquidity providers, that can only be good for my style of trading. Cheers.
Until the next time another tax is proposed that screws you over. But then, I won't care because it won't affect me.
This is probably going to pass... Herbert is a cunt. If it passes, I'm leaving this country to sink. Yay for duel citizenship.