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Taxing Financial Speculation: Shifting the Tax Burden from Wages to Wagers
Publication Date: February 2000
Publisher(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research
Author(s): Dean Baker
Topic: Banking and finance (Stock exchanges)
Keywords: Gambling tax; Social investment; Market efficiency
Type: Report
Coverage: United States
Abstract:
The vast majority of stock trades and other financial transactions are done by short term traders who hold assets for less than a year and often less than a day. These trades are essentially a form of gambling. This paper proposes a modest tax on these trades, 0.25 percent on the sale or purchase of share of stock, along with comparable fees for other assets.