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Financial Transaction Taxes in Theory and Practice

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Financial Transaction Taxes in Theory and Practice

Brookings Institution,

5 minutes de lecture
5 points à retenir
Audio et texte

Aperçu

Should the US government impose a tax on the purchase and sale of financial securities?

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • Innovative

Recommendation

One idea to curb the excesses of the American financial sector centers on instituting a financial transactions tax. While this sort of tax, imposed on the purchase and sale of financial securities, sounds simple in theory, it could be quite complex in practice. The authors, policy experts from the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, explore the issues and find that a US financial transaction tax may be a mixed blessing. Though their report reaches no definitive conclusion, it examines a number of issues and provides comprehensive food for thought. getAbstract suggests this cogent analysis to policy makers, financial services professionals and investors.

Summary

A financial transactions tax (FTT) could raise about $50 billion in annual revenue in the United States. The FTT’s backers include Joseph Stiglitz, Bill Gates and George Soros. Taxing financial dealings isn’t a new idea: The United Kingdom’s stamp duty has been around since 1694, and the United States had a stock transactions tax from 1914 to 1965. Currently, 11 European Union members are negotiating an FTT, and several G20 nations already impose them. Typically, the tax ranges from 0.3% to 0.5% of the market price of a stock, bond or derivative. The more a security trades...

About the Authors

Leonard E. Burman, Sarah Gault, Jim Nunns and Steve Rosenthal work at the Urban Institute. William G. Gale and Bryan Kim work at the Brookings Institution.


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