GOP Bill Would Block State-Level Financial Transaction Taxes

"An FTT is the latest attempt by the Left to take advantage of a 'crisis' to implement a massive new tax on the American people," the letter states. "Contrary to their rhetoric, this tax would be borne by the American people, not Wall Street. It would punish investment, leading to lower returns for American retirees and savers and increased market volatility."

In a separate statement Tuesday, Americans for Tax Reform said that "if implemented in any given state, an FTT would result in significant harm to investors. Because the tax would be imposed on transactions processed by the exchanges in a state, it would harm investors across the country, not just those in the state which implements it."

The bill introduced by McHenry and Huizenga "would protect against this by prohibiting a financial transactions tax on taxpayers outside a state's borders," Americans for Tax Reform said.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association added Tuesday in a separate statement that it "commends the action taken today to protect Americans retirement savings" by McHenry and Huizenga.

The bill "would block states from imposing financial transactions taxes (FTTs) on certain industry participants, including stock exchanges and broker-dealers, which would be paid by out-of-state investors when the FTT is passed onto them," SIFMA said.