Obama calls for bank tax as next step in reform

[babylonsister]

Obama calls for bank tax as next step in reform
Reuters

By Caren Bohan Caren Bohan – Sat Jun 26, 6:04 am ET


TORONTO (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, fresh from a win on a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street regulations, on Saturday urged Congress to take up his proposal for a $90 billion, 10-year tax on banks as the next step in reform.

Obama wants to slap a 0.15 percent tax on the liabilities of the biggest U.S. financial institutions to recoup the costs to taxpayers of the financial bailout.

"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.

Obama, who is in Canada to attend gatherings with leaders of the world's biggest economies, also used the address to welcome a deal by congressional negotiators on a historic rewriting of U.S. financial regulations.

Obama hopes to tout the changes as a model for other countries at the Group of 20 summit on Saturday and Sunday.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100626/bs_nm/us_obama_banks

[Andy823]

1. I can go for that!

I think this will would be great if he can get it done, and if the rest of the world does it also. The bankers are doing great, thanks to the taxpayer bailouts, now let them do something to help out this country!

[RC]

2. This sounds like a good deal.

How ever, I have a question. There are some large regional banks that are healthy. That did not succumb to the get richer quicker fraud schemes. Did not need to be or were not bailed out.

Will they be except from this tax? Or just the banks that were bailed out?

[lunatica]

3. We bailed them out and now we get our money back?

What a concept!!

I think this is a great idea.

[Donnachaidh]

4. will there be any protections put in place to keep the banks from passing on those charges?

Because they will pass on that tax to their customers. :shrug:

[lunatica]

5. good point

[RC]

6. How a about putting a tax on the obscene bonuses they pass out to themselves?

[Donnachaidh]

9. how about a 90% tax on all wall street and bank bonuses?

Sounds good to me.

[DrToast]

7. That's not how it works

If they could charge more, then why don't they do it right now? Why are the waiting for a tax? Don't they want to make as much as they possibly can?

[Donnachaidh]

8. of course it's how it works

This *tax* will give them an *official* excuse to pass it along. They don't want to see their profits dwindle. But of course it won't be worded that way.

[IOKIYAL]

10. provision or no provision, a bank will raise their fees on you anyway.

the consumers best bet is to avoid them as much as possible. the highest fees can be avoided by using your banks atm and watching your balance. I just got rid of a $8 monthly fee by opening a savings account online. it had to be online. took me five minutes.

[DrToast]

11. Then what are they waiting for?

If you're saying they can make more profit by raising their fees, then why aren't they doing it already?

You're basically buying right-wing bullshit that they use to prevent new regulation hook line and sinker.

[denimgirly]

12. Nice, but NO CHANCE it will happen -- Big Banks wont allow it (and neither will the WH)

Far from being considered "sweeping overhaul" of Wall Street regulations, seeing as how all Banks stock prices went UP 4% that day, this new proposal of a 10-year tax on banks stands little chance of making it very far intact...at best the amount will only be a fraction of a percent of that.

Expect all Republicans, Democrats, and yes, even the WH (despite being the ones proposing it -- recall this has happened before), to fight against this proposal in the coming days.