U.S. Capitol Building S-115
East Capitol Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20515
Oct 18, 2011
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM (GMT-5)
Host:
Senator Tom Harkin, Representative Peter DeFazio and the Congressional Populist Caucus
A small tax on financial transactions would raise tens of billions of dollars a year and curb dangerous high-speed trading. Support for a transaction tax is growing in the U.S. and around the world. The European Union recently proposed a tax of 10 cents per $100 of securities transactions, and 10 cents per $1,000 of derivatives transactions. France and Germany have already endorsed this proposal. The European Union forecasts that this tiny tax will raise some $70 billion annually.
Senator Tom Harkin, Representative Peter DeFazio and the Congressional Populist Caucus sponsored a briefing on financial speculation taxes and how they can raise revenues and stop destabilizing and unproductive financial speculation. The event — which was presented by Americans for Financial Reform, AFL-CIO, Institute for Policy Studies, The Center for Media and Democracy, and The Center for Economic and Policy Research — included comments from John Fullerton, former managing director at J.P. Morgan Co.; Frédéric Doré, minister counselor and deputy chief of mission at the French Embassy to the United States; Damon Silvers, director of policy and special counsel at AFL-CIO; and Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. A representative from the economics section of the German embassy was present to explain the details of the European Union proposal.
