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Arguments for Taxing Wall Street Trading

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CommonDreams.org reports: “‘A Small Tax on Wall Street to Make Big Change’: Bernie Sanders and Barbara Lee Introduce New Financial Transaction Tax.” Also, see: “As 2020 Democrats Cozy Up to Wall Street Donors, Warren and Sanders Refuse to Play Big-Money Game.”

DOUG HENWOOD, dhenwood at panix.com, @DougHenwood
Henwood’s books include Wall Street. He said today: “I’m skeptical of some of the revenue claims made for a financial transactions tax, because if imposed, it would put a damper on hyperactive trading. A lot of computer-driven trading, for example, relies on tiny oddities in market pricing of no economic significance, but which have a great power to destabilize the markets. Taxing those, even at very low rates, would take away all the profit opportunities. But that would be a good thing, like taxing carbon or tobacco: the point isn’t to raise revenue, though some might be raised, but to stomp out noxious things.”

Founder of Left Business Observer, Henwood now blogs at lbo-news.com and hosts the program “Behind the News.”