Schatz, Hoyle Reintroduce Legislation To Tax Wall Street, Reduce Economic Inequality

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) reintroduced legislation to create a new progressive tax on financial transactions that would curb high-risk trading practices, reduce economic inequality, and generate $752 billion in new federal revenue over the next decade.

“Wall Street has cashed in on high-risk trades that add no real value to our economy and leave working families behind. We need to curb this dangerous trading to reduce volatility in the markets and encourage investment that can actually help our economy grow,” said Senator Schatz. “By raising the price of stock trades, we can make our financial system work better while bringing in billions in new revenue that we can reinvest in our workers and our communities.”

The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.). U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (D-Ore.) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. The House bill is cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawai‘i), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).

“Wall Street trading practices, like speculative trading, benefit a small percentage of our country’s most elite investors. I’m proud to introduce the Wall Street Tax Act with Senator Schatz to discourage speculative trading that causes market instability,” said Representative Hoyle. “The Wall Street Tax Act would generate billions of dollars that we can use to invest in affordable health care, infrastructure, and jobs that will support working families.”

High-volume, speculative trading is part of the disconnect between the financial system and the real economy, as it adds no real economic value and disproportionately benefits those at the top. The overwhelming majority of stocks are owned by the wealthiest Americans, who have reaped massive profits from trading on Wall Street as markets approach their all-time highs. The result has been an uneven economic recovery: while workers have lost their jobs, fallen behind on rent, and lacked enough food for their families, as of the end of last year, America’s 728 billionaires have seen their wealth grow by more than $1.5 trillion since 2020.

The Wall Street Tax Act would create a 0.1% tax on each sale of stocks, bonds, and derivatives, which will discourage unproductive trading and redirect investment toward more productive areas of the economy. The new tax would apply to the fair market value of equities and bonds, and the payment flows under derivatives contracts. Initial public offerings and short-term debt would be exempted.

The Wall Street Tax Act is supported by more than 50 organizations, including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Demand Progress, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Main Street Alliance, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumers League, Our Revolution, Oxfam America, Public Citizen, UNITE HERE, and United Steelworkers International Union (USW), among others.

The full text of the bill is available here.

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