I think what he meant was, he'll be happy we would have to pay the tax, because that's from where he receives his salary and incidentals. Not a DIME comes out of his pocket to live. Scumbag he is, like the lot of them.
institutions... govt, exchanges and MM(who got exemptions), i don't think Brussels or many continental european governments care much about the well being of individual speculators. From memory quite fewer people in Europe hold a share portfolio than in the US, and public sympathy for traders and speculators is quite low there, so one must expect little public outcry agains such rules in Europe. If large institutions don't get hammered, extra transaction taxes might just go through.
A Financial Transaction Tax was part of the official Democratic Party platform for the last presidential election. Of course, they have gone even further Left with Socialist Bernie. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-add-wall-street-levy-to-arsenal-of-tax-hikes “Over the last decade, Wall Street has made record profits from high-risk trades that have made the market dangerously volatile, while doing nothing to add real value to our economy or raise wages for workers,” Schatz said in a statement. Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, is sponsoring the idea in the House.
The EU are still determined to apply self harm. London (UK) must be so happy they are out of the EU. https://www.cityam.com/angela-merkel-seeks-to-impose-financial-transactions-tax-on-eu-countries/