Sounds good, I shure will chip in. One problem: I am from Norway, Europe so which zip code should I use? Which congressman would you recommend me contacting?
You mean like the vote regarding the 2nd half of TARP? Or the autos bailout? Numbers and votes are back-burner for at least 12 months. Penmanship combined with lucid and well thought-out points stands out from the crowd.
I know there is another thread on this subject, and I have not perused much of it, so I don't know if this link as been posted, but here is a link to the position paper from Baker, et al on the Transaction Tax http://college.holycross.edu/eej/Volume29/V29N4P527_558.pdf As a futures trader, I am heartened by the fact that as of 2003 there were only three countries that taxed futures transactions, Argentina, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Others had in fact dropped the tax. However, Dean, et al, are proposing a tax on futures as well as other financial instruments. "The 0.5 percent rate on equities then becomes our benchmark for establishing rates in other markets in a way that minimizes distortions. Our proposal is to scale the two-sided tax rate on other financial instruments as follows: Bonds 0.01 percent per each year until bondâs maturity Futures 0.02 percent of the notional value of underlying asset Options 0.5 percent of the premium paid for the option Interest Rate Swaps 0.02 percent per each year until maturity of swap agreement
Ok I read the original 0.25% tax amendment to the TARP bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-7125 It looks like in this iteration it won't be retroactive because they will just put the tax on top of the SEC fee per trade we already pay. Whew!
Even though Larry Summers wrote a paper on the Tobin Transaction Tax take a look about what he said in an interview: GEV: In that light, what is your view of the so-called Tobin tax: the idea of taxing international financial transactions and using the money generated to fund different initiatives, from debt relief to supporting the United Nations? SUMMERS: I don't think it's an idea that will go very far, for at least two reasons. First, although I would like to see more resources devoted to international organizations, foreign assistance, debt relief, post-conflict reconstruction, global education or environmental priorities, it will be a very long time before the countries of the world are prepared to give a taxing authority to an international organization at the global level -- of any kind. Second, while it is tempting to tax what often is seen as speculative activity, evidence suggests that in a world of derivatives, swap instruments and substantial transactions that take place within individual companies, the imposition of an across-the-board tax on financial transactions is neither meaningful nor feasible.
And therein lies the real problem in stopping this: FEE versus TAX. Coupled with a guarantee of new regulations and regulatory structures for all things financial.
Stupid question ... what would the actual dollar amount of the tax be per 1 ES contract? (0.25% X what $ value?) Thanks. Edit: By my calculations, $50 X 860.00 = $43,000 .... X .0025 = $107.50 <<< tax per SIDE Can this be right??