# Wall Street Tax Act of 2021

This bill puts a small tax on financial transactions—specifically on the buying and selling of stocks, bonds, and derivatives on Wall Street. The tax would be 0.1% on stock trades, 0.01% on bond trades, and 0.01% on derivative contracts. To put that in perspective, if you bought $10,000 worth of stock, you'd pay a $10 tax on top of the purchase price.

The main goal is to raise money for the federal government while discouraging high-frequency trading, where large financial firms make thousands of trades per second to profit from tiny price movements. Supporters argue this would reduce risky speculation and make markets more stable. The revenue generated—estimated in the billions annually—would go toward deficit reduction or other government priorities. However, critics worry that even a small tax could increase costs for regular investors saving for retirement through mutual funds and 401(k)s, since those funds trade frequently and might pass along the costs to everyday people. Banks and investment firms would likely be affected most directly, as they conduct the vast majority of these transactions.

The bill essentially tries to make Wall Street pay more into the system while potentially slowing down the rapid-fire trading that some economists blame for market instability. Whether it actually reaches that goal depends on how traders respond and how the tax gets implemented in practice.

Wall Street Tax Act of 2021

Schatz, Brian

Wall Street Tax Act of 2021 This bill imposes a 0.1% excise tax on certain purchases of stocks, bonds, and derivatives. The tax applies to the purchase of a security if (1) such purchase occurs on, or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States; or (2) the purchaser or seller is a U.S. person. The tax applies to transactions with respect to a derivative if (1) the derivative is traded on, or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States; or (2) any party with rights under the derivative is a U.S. person. The bill exempts from such tax (1) initial issues of securities; and (2) any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness which is traded on or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States, and has a fixed maturity of not more than 100 days. The tax applies to transactions by a controlled foreign corporation and must be paid by its U.S. shareholders.