Wall Street would bear the brunt of the latest tax proposal as Democrats jockey for the most progressive tax ideas with the approach of the 2020 elections.
Senator Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, is working on a plan that would tax financial trades, according to his spokesman, Michael Inacay, who declined to provide details on how, exactly, it would be structured.
Financial transaction taxes typically place a levy of a fraction of a percent on the price of a securities trade. The idea has gained popularity within the Democratic Party as a way to curb high-frequency trading as well as raise revenue for progressive policies such as free college tuition.
Such a tax, however, remains a legislative long shot, especially with Republicans in control of the White House and the U.S. Senate.
For now, though, it adds to the array of progressive tax proposals Democrats could embrace to distinguish themselves from the GOP going into the next election season. Some of the ideas are emerging from the U.S. House, which is now in Democratic hands. And presidential hopefuls are beginning to campaign on large-scale tax plans that would largely hit the wealthy, and a series of recent polls show a majority of voters like the concept.
Schatz, 46, has not been among the prominent Democrats to express interest in replacing President Donald Trump, but he has been part of the effort to pull the party to the left, on taxes and other issues.