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Financial Transaction Tax + HFT Revenue, from Mr. Isomorphisms

2019-12-05 ยท Mr. Isomorphisms
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"Financial Transaction Taxes - the ghost in the machine"

Mr Hurd, who made markets in KOSPI options, knows a bit about US hft as well.

2 points:

  • the USA already has a financial transaction tax, SEC self-reg fees of $2000mmm last year.
  • Virtu's quarterly revenue is "only" $127mm. This puts a heavy limit on what an HFT tax could be estimated to raise. And, to Mr Williams' point, speed isn't everything. The total amount people make in the markets makes $half a billion usd of yearly revenue look small.

(sorry, I saw an estimate of the total size of the asset management industry on some slide somewhere not very long ago, but I'm too lazy to look it up.)