Obama unveils bank tax to raise $90 billion in 10 years
16 Jan 2010
US president Barack Obama has unveiled his proposed bank tax that plans to collectively raise about $90 billion over 10 years to help recoup losses from the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) and reduce the federal deficit.
Mixing public sentiments with tough words for which the president is known, he said yesterday, ''We want our money back, and we're going to get it."
More of the plan's details will be included in the budget message Obama sends Congress next month.
Earlier speculation was rife that the president was planning to raise about $120 billion as the administration expects to lose $120 billion from the government's $700 billion TARP that bailed out banks, automakers and other financial firms (See: Obama mulls tax on banks to raise $120 billion).
Capitalising on public anger towards hefty bonuses offered by the financial institutions, the administration's proposed ''Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee'' targets financial companies with more than $50 billion in assets. This list extends to about 50 odd companies, about 35 US companies and 10 to 15 US subsidiaries of foreign firms.
According to experts this include the nation's biggest names in banking, brokerage and insurance that includes Citigroup Inc, JP Morgan & Co, Bank of America Corp, Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co, Charles Schwab, PNC Financial, US Bancorp, SunTrust Banks, UnionBanCal (parent of Union Bank of California), Comerica, American Express, Capital One, MetLife, Prudential Financial, Hartford Financial and Lincoln National.
