Obama Bank Tax Spreads the Pain Around
If you ever nursed the idea that taxation isn’t a form of punishment, President Barack Obama is here to disabuse you. A day after Congress passed massive new regulations on the financial industry, the president today called for passage of a 10 year, $90 billion tax on banks and hedge funds to pay for the 2008 financial bailout. To quote the president:
“We need to impose a fee on the banks that were the biggest beneficiaries of taxpayer assistance at the height of our financial crisis — so we can recover every dime of taxpayer money,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.
And yet the tax/fee/legalized theft won’t be levied on just “the biggest beneficiaries.” It will hit every bank with assets over $50 billion and hedge funds with more than $10 billion. That means even the financial institutions that have already repaid their bailout debts will be hit with the 0.15% increase in the cost of doing business.
But remember: businesses don’t pay taxes (or fees) – people do. Keep that in mind when your monthly service fees jump through the roof.
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