‘Public Citizen’ Backs Speculation Tax On Wall Street

Wall Street ought to pay a tax on speculation, according to a non-profit advocacy group last week.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wall Street ought to pay a tax on speculation, according to a non-profit advocacy group last week.

Public Citizen in this call backed a bill establishing such a tax on stocks, derivatives and other financial instruments.

Of Rep. Peter DeFazio’s “Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act,” Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen, said:

“It would allocate the raised funds for the purposes of job creation and deficit reduction. The speculation tax is an idea whose time has come. We expect it to gain traction in Congress quickly, and we are committed to working to help it become law.”

This tax has three benefits, Weissman explained.

One, it will slow trading on Wall Street in order to curb risk that endanger the entire financial system.

Two, it will raise a modest federal revenue stream at a quarter of a percent on trades, amounting to $150 billion a year.

Three, it will only slightly hurt a small minority of Americans – the richest one percent who own 40 percent of the stocks.

Rep. DeFazio’s bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Arcuri (D-N.Y.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) and Bob Filner (D-Calif.).