Taking On Wall Street Update

CWA Supports Plan for 'Sales Tax' on Wall Street Speculation

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced a bill to make our tax system fairer and put the brakes on corporate greed. The legislation would institute a small sales tax on Wall Street transactions to discourage speculative financial trading that can harm the economy – a step toward leveling the financial playing field for working families.

CWA President Chris Shelton said, "Working families pay their fair share and more in taxes. It's long past time that Wall Street traders and speculators stepped up. Congressman DeFazio's plan for a financial transaction tax will put the brakes on Wall Street speculation and excesses by closing the loophole that allows Wall Street trades to avoid the kinds of sales tax that working families pay every day. We're proud to join with him and with progressive organizations that are working for real tax fairness and to counter destructive, one-sided tax proposals like those recently announced that further reward the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us."

Just like ordinary Americans pay a sales tax on the goods and services that we buy every day, Wall Street traders should pay a similar fee for the transactions they churn out, sometimes thousands of times a day. The funds generated by the FTT can be used to support national priorities that help working families.

Watch a video on the bill here.

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Senator Baldwin and Rep. Levin Introduce Bill to Close Carried Interest Loophole

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Representative Sander Levin (D-MI) introduced tax reform legislation to close the carried interest loophole.

The carried interest tax loophole benefits investment fund managers by allowing them to take advantage of a preferential tax rate, rather than the ordinary income tax rates of up to 39.6-percent that all other Americans pay. The Carried Interest Fairness Act would end this loophole by ensuring that income earned by managing other people's money is taxed at the same ordinary income tax rates as that of the vast majority of Americans.

The non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated that this legislation, by closing the carried interest loophole, would raise $15.6 billion in revenue. This additional revenue could be invested in strengthening the middle class.