The politics of debt, taxes and services -- Bretton Woods and foreign currency exchange activity -- The idea of a tobin tax -- Arguments in favour of taxing financial transactions -- Arguments against taxing financial transactions -- Conclusion
Summary
Financial transactions taxes are in force in all the major developed countries except the USA and Canada. Typically the tax is 0.25% or less, paid whenever stocks and shares or bonds, etc. change hands. The tax originally proposed by Tobin would be a new tax applicable to all international transactions in which currency is exhanged. A similar tax in North America could bring in billions of dollars, even if the tax were as low as 0.1%. In Good Taxes, Alex Michalos puts forth the argument in favour of a financial transactions tax. He looks at the tax as being a benefit to the countries that colle
