Is a Robin Hood tax viable?

1. 81

   Marsden4posted 11 years ago

   Is a Robin Hood tax viable?
   
   I've heard a lot about the Robin Hood tax, which is a less than 1% tax on financial transactions. It is meant to raise revenue and to discourage unnecessarily risky trading.
   
   However, I've also had my attention drawn to the failed financial transaction tax in Sweden which makes me wonder if it is viable.
   
   Would it need to be international in character to work?

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2. 67

   LandmarkWealthposted 11 years ago

   Funny that it would even be called a Robin Hood Tax since Robin Hood was an anti government rebel.  Seems like the last thing he would like to do is funnel another income stream to govt bureaucrats. And no it is not a good idea.  It would be a great disincentive to capital formation.   The cost would effect negatively pension funds, 401k's via mutual fund transactions and other forms of retirement savings.  And at the same time accomplish nothing but reducing capital investment.  Investors already pay 1% or more for professional money management and financial planning services.  The last thing they need to do is pay another 1% of their retirement savings to a bunch of incompetent politicians.

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3. 86

   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   I can't imagine it working. If it would penalize small investors, then it would damage the flow of financial trade. If it would penalize large investors (tax the rich, and hope government gives it to the poor), then the rich would never let the law come into being, or, if it did, find ways to circumvent it.
   
   Face it: The rich want to keep their money, and they're smart enough and powerful enough to find a way to make that happen. That's how they got rich, and how they stay rich.
   
   Any taxation or regulation designed to change that is like a concrete sidewalk trying to stop grass from growing. Living things - and people - always find or make cracks and find ways to keep doing what they want to do.

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