June 30th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today urged Senator Scott Brown to reject the Dodd-Frank conference legislation “which still contains an unlimited bank tax.”
“Right on pages 356 through 364 of the latest Dodd-Frank conference report, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation can still levy unlimited assessments — which are taxes — on banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions to pay for the so-called ‘orderly liquidation fund’, which is just a limitless fund for government to take over and bail out companies,” Wilson said.
“Senator Brown withheld support for the Dodd-Frank financial takeover conference because of the $19 billion bank tax. Well, what about the unlimited bank tax that’s still in the bill?” Wilson asked.
In a statement issued today, Brown said, “I appreciate the conference committee revisiting the Wall Street reform bill and removing the $19 billion bank tax. Over the July recess, I will continue to review this important bill.”
Wilson said, “In between eating hot dogs, Senator Brown should really check out pages 356 through 364 of the bill, where the real bank tax is. He should be familiar with it. The bank tax was in the bill the last time he voted for it, too.”
Wilson noted that as a candidate, Brown ran against a bank tax on the premise that it would simply be passed on to the American people via higher financial transaction costs. Brown said at the time, “With all due respect, that money is going to be transferred down to the individuals through ATM fees, increased fees. I thought banks were supposed to lend. So now they’re going to take the money that they would be lending to the small businesses in this state and the men and women who want to buy homes … and there’s less of a pool there.”
The “orderly liquidation fund” would be financed by “risk-based” assessments levied by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on institutions totaling $50 billion or more in assets, proceeds from securities issued by the FDIC of seized firms, interest and other earnings from investments owned by the fund, and “repayments to the Corporation by covered financial companies.”
According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of a similar bank tax proposal by the Obama Administration, “the ultimate cost of a tax or fee is not necessarily borne by the entity that writes the check to the government. The cost of the proposed fee would ultimately be borne to varying degrees by an institution’s customers, employees, and investors, but the precise incidence among those groups is uncertain.”
“Senator Scott Brown may think he is playing savvy politics by negotiating the removal of the $19 billion bank tax, but he’s really nothing more than a bait fish to help the real bank tax get across the finish line. Brown is being played. He’s being used,” Wilson declared.
“Everyone is familiar with the three-card monte game. While everyone is reporting on the removal of the $19 billion bank tax from the conference legislation, nobody is paying attention to the unlimited bank tax that’s still in the legislation and has been since the very beginning,” Wilson explained.
“Senator Scott Brown is no longer a babe in the woods. Will he fall for Dodd and Frank’s shell game?” Wilson concluded.
Attachments:
“Down a Rabbit Hole:’ The Threat Posed by the Dodd Bill to the Private Sector,” Updated June 28th, 2010, Americans for Limited Government.
“Big Brother is Watching You: The Threat Posed by the Dodd Bill to Privacy,” Updated June 28th, 2010.
Letter to the U.S. Senate, ALG President Bill Wilson, April 26th, 2010.
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
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