Is it Time to Tax Financial Transactions??

Meanwhile, negotiations over a plan to introduce a financial transactions tax are proving difficult, meeting resistance from the U.K. and Sweden after the U.S. signalled it won't back the plan.

The European Commission is set on proposing a tax on trading shares and bonds, foreign exchange and derivatives in the coming weeks, for all 27 EU member countries, after France and Germany, the region's two largest economies, backed the idea. The EU also plans to press the case at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in November.

But Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski, who chaired the meeting Saturday, said EU leaders are "very much divided on this" and the tax isn't expected to be a crucial element in strategies to stabilize the economic crisis.

Geithner told his European peers on Friday that the U.S. would not back a financial transactions tax.

The U.K. has long said it would only agree to such a tax if it was global.

The U.K. is Europe's biggest financial center and says it would only support such a tax if it is implemented around the world for fear that it could lose businesses key to its economy.

"I must confess it's not so evident we'll meet agreement in Europe about that," Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said. "If it's not possible, we will maybe discuss on the euro zone."

I actually agree with this as I feel that the Dow Jones is extremely manipulated by flash traders and allowing to sell stocks short. I am also for more accountability/liability by brokerage firms who give these traders a platform to manipulate the market.

The fees associated with your 401Ks and mutual funds would skyrocket.

Then you aren't in buy and hold funds if a small tax on transactions would cause your fees to skyrocket.

Account managers would either adapt to the new law of the land, or parish.[sic]