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A tax whose time has come

Editor, Index-Tribune:

 

Some members of Congress are proposing a tax on stock transactions. Such a tax would have very little impact on most of those buying and selling stocks because of proposed tax limitations on ordinary transactions.

A stock transactions tax would incur extra costs mostly to those who are speculating by perpetually buying and selling the same stocks multiple times a day. It's what's known as "churning." Those engaged in that practice usually turn a small profit on each transaction, but make many millions on the sheer weight of trading volume. I fail to see how churning benefits anyone but the speculators.

Even though a stock transactions tax, as has been proposed, would be .0025 percent, it would have negligible effect on most investors. It's estimated that a stock transactions tax would generate about $50 billion to $100 billion a year in tax revenue - no small piece of change.

It would be nice to see such additional revenue go towards payment of our national debt instead of into the pockets of Wall Street speculators.

 Paul G. Jaehnert

Vadnais Hts., Minn.