Obama Bank Tax: We want our money back – and we’ll get it!

14 January 2010

US President Barack Obama called on Wall Street to pay a fee of up to $117 billion to repay taxpayers money for the financial bailout. The so-called "financial crisis responsibility fee," would apply only to financial companies with assets of more than $50 billion.

US President Barack Obama called on Wall Street to pay a fee of up to $117 billion to repay taxpayers money for the financial bailout.

 

"My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed," the US President said and referred to the “reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses” of those financial companies who received massive support from the governments TARP program.

 

The so-called "financial crisis responsibility fee," would apply only to financial companies with assets of more than $50 billion. The plan will include a levy of 0.15 basis points of covered liabilities per year of these firms, and it is expected that some 60 percent of the revenue would come from the 10 largest financial companies.

 

The full details of the fee proposal are expected to be made public in February and will be subject to shaping by Congress.

 

Although AIG will be subject to the fee, the mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as US carmakers will be excluded from these measures.

The following fact sheet issued by the Treasury provides more detailed information.

 

© The White House