FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mar. 5, 2019

CONTACT:

Carter Dougherty

carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org

(202) 251-6700

Americans for Financial Reform and Take on Wall Street coalitions applaud Wall Street Tax Act

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, Senator Schatz (D-HI) and Representative DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Wall Street Tax Act, a bill that would tax the sale of stocks, bonds, and derivatives at a rate of 10 cents per $100 of Wall Street transactions. This small fee on financial transactions would play an important role in curbing high-frequency trading, reducing risk and volatility in financial markets and raising an estimated $777 billion in new revenue over 10 years. It would push Wall Street away from extremely short term speculation, and towards longer term investments that can contribute to the real economy, as it also requires Wall Street to pay more of its fair share in taxes. AFR and Take on Wall Street join 59 other organizations in endorsing this legislation.

“Today, a set of Wall Street firms make money from high-frequency, speculative trading, often holding financial instruments for minutes, seconds or even milliseconds. These are not long-term investments that provide capital for real economy businesses or communities.” said Marcus Stanley, Policy Director with Americans for Financial Reform. “ They pose a risk to the markets, put small investors saving for retirement or other family needs at a disadvantage, and feed the wealth gap, making some traders enormously wealthy.”

“Working families pay sales taxes on almost everything from a pair of shoes to a car — why shouldn’t Wall Street traders pay sales taxes when they buy millions in stocks?” said Luísa Galvão of the Take on Wall Street campaign. “We applaud Sen. Schatz and Representative DeFazio for introducing the Wall Street Tax Act, a step toward making Wall Street pay its fair share in taxes and actually invest in the real economy, not gamble with it.”

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