Forum Post: Must Read - 1% Wall Street sales tax to stablize US federal budget
Posted 11 years ago on Dec. 6, 2012, 11:17 p.m. EST by arturo
(3169)
from Shanghai, Shanghai
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
In the midst of the current haggling over the US federal budget, the main fact is being ignored: the fiscal shortfall of the US government over decades is largely due to Wall Street’s rigging of the tax code so that the main money center banks pay little or nothing in the way of taxes.
Like the haughty nobility in France before the Revolution of 1789, the Wall Street banks are practically exempt from taxation, and the burden of paying for the government is shifted to the middle class. Anybody who is serious about reducing the power of Wall Street bankers in US politics must now mobilize to educate public opinion about the situation and its main remedy - the 1% Wall Street Sales Tax.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/04/276170/wall-street-tax-solution-to-us-budget/
Not even close. The tax increase on the top 2% won't even do it. But, this is no excuse to not raise taxes. The most common argument is that the increase won't cover the debt issue but this is like saying, I'm almost out of gas and $3 won't fill my gas tank so why bother stopping at a gas station at all. Taxs need to go up but it's not a cure-all.
What about the upper 2% paying 40% of the taxes - does that count - just saying?
You mean 40% of Federal income taxes? Don't leave out payroll taxes which are as large a percentage as federal income tax of which the lower incomes pay a higher share.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Share_of_Federal_Revenue_from_Different_Tax_Sources_%28Individual%2C_Payroll%2C_and_Corporate%29_1950_-_2010.gif
I don't see how what you are "just saying" has to do with this post. Other businesses charge sales tax when they make a sale, so why shouldn't Wall Street Banks?
Maybe it's because they don't "buy things. In order to charge a sales tax you have to purchase something.
I'm not talking about what Wall Street buys, I'm talking about what it sells:
"US states collect sales taxes usually ranging from 6% to 12% on transactions involving merchandise, sometimes including even groceries. But when the Wall Street banks, hedge funds, and brokerage houses sell their stocks, bonds, derivatives, debt instruments, etc., they pay no sales tax whatsoever. "
"The obvious way to stabilize the US federal budget is to levy a sales tax on these financial market transactions. A sales tax will be paid immediately on every trade, without regard for the yearly profits and losses reported by smart accountants, making it much harder to cheat."
"In short, the greatest single flow of untaxed money is the stocks, bonds, and derivatives which cross the exchanges in New York and Chicago, as well as the over-the-counter derivatives which are contracted behind the scenes. If sacrifices are required, this is obviously the place to start. "
"The goal should be a 1% across-the-board Wall Street Sales Tax, paid by the seller, on stocks, bonds, and the notional value of derivatives. It also makes sense for the federal government to share half of the proceeds with the states, in order to support the key role of state and local governments in preserving the essentials of modern civilization."
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/04/276170/wall-street-tax-solution-to-us-budget/
http://blog.ml-implode.com/2012/04/u-s-standard-of-living-has-fallen-more-than-50/