I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6411 
To impose a tax on certain trading transactions to strengthen our financial 
security, expand opportunity, and stop shrinking the middle class. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 
Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. STARK, Mr. FILNER, Ms. 
WOOLSEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To impose a tax on certain trading transactions to strength-
en our financial security, expand opportunity, and stop 
shrinking the middle class. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inclusive Prosperity 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The global financial crisis cost Americans 
$19 trillion in lost wealth. 
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(2) The global financial crisis was caused by fi-
nancial firms taking great financial risks without 
disclosing those risks to their investors or their regu-
lators, and by regulatory failures to adequately po-
lice the financial services markets for crime, unfair 
or deceptive practices, fraud, lack of transparency, 
and mismanagement. 
(3) Deceptive, illegal, and speculative financial 
practices have harmed public confidence in the integ-
rity and fairness of many United States financial in-
stitutions, and threaten the basic strengths of the 
United States economic system. 
(4) American citizens provided the money to 
stabilize the financial sector, making $600 billion 
available to 800 financial institutions, automakers, 
and insurance companies. 
(5) The global financial crisis, along with the 
wars, unsustainable tax cuts, and a continuing un-
employment crisis and looming loss of unemploy-
ment benefits, if unaddressed, will deprive a genera-
tion of a meaningful role in the larger economy. 
(6) Nurses, teachers, public safety officers, and 
other public sector workers have faced drastic fund-
ing cuts, harming our long-term public safety and 
prospects for economic growth. 
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(7) According to economists, a small tax on 
transfer of ownership of every financial trade could 
generate hundreds of billions annually in revenue, 
which when invested could help create sufficient jobs 
in both the public and private sectors to replace the 
8 million jobs lost in the recent recession and add 
even more jobs on an ongoing basis. 
(8) A transfer tax will help limit reckless short- 
term speculation that threatens financial stability. 
(9) A securities transfer tax would have a neg-
ligible impact on the average investor. 
(10) The United States had a transfer tax from 
1914 to 1966: The Revenue Act of 1914 (Act of 
Oct. 22, 1914 (ch. 331, 38 Stat. 745)) levied a 0.2 
percent tax on all sales or transfers of stock which 
was doubled in 1932 to help overcome the budgetary 
challenges during the Great Depression. 
(11) Forty nations have a financial transactions 
tax and more than 1,000 economists have endorsed 
it. 
(12) Revenue generated by this tax will be 
available to— 
(A) strengthen financial security and ex-
pand opportunity for low- and moderate-income 
families, including strengthening the social safe-
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ty net and expanding resources for child care, 
Social Security, and savings incentives; 
(B) expand resources for State and Fed-
eral investments that protect our health, rebuild 
our crumbling physical infrastructure, and cre-
ate good paying jobs by— 
(i) expanding and improving Medicare 
and Medicaid; 
(ii) investing in education, student 
debt relief, job training, public sector jobs, 
and green jobs; 
(iii) providing housing assistance to 
low-income households; 
(iv) investing in transportation includ-
ing transit and an infrastructure bank that 
promotes environmentally responsible do-
mestic manufacturing and construction in-
dustries; and 
(v) protecting our environment and 
building a clean energy economy, including 
efforts to combat climate change; and 
(C) fund international sustainable pros-
perity programs such as health care invest-
ments, AIDS treatment, research and preven-
tion programs, and international assistance. 
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SEC. 3. TRANSACTION TAX. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after sub-
chapter B the following new subchapter: 
‘‘Subchapter C—Tax on Trading Transactions 
‘‘Sec. 4475. Tax on trading transactions. 
‘‘SEC. 4475. TAX ON TRADING TRANSACTIONS. 
‘‘(a) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—There is hereby imposed 
a tax on the transfer of ownership in each covered trans-
action with respect to any security. 
‘‘(b) RATE OF TAX.—The tax imposed under sub-
section (a) with respect to any covered transaction shall 
be the applicable percentage of the specified base amount 
with respect to such covered transaction. The applicable 
percentage shall be— 
‘‘(1) 0.5 percent in the case of a security de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection 
(e)(1), 
‘‘(2) 0.10 percent in the case of a security de-
scribed in subparagraph (C) of subsection (e)(1), 
and 
‘‘(3) 0.005 percent in the case of a security de-
scribed in subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of sub-
section (e)(1). 
‘‘(c) SPECIFIED BASE AMOUNT.—For purposes of 
this section, the term ‘specified base amount’ means— 
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‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
fair market value of the security (determined as of 
the time of the covered transaction), and 
‘‘(2) in the case of any payment described in 
subsection (h), the amount of such payment. 
‘‘(d) COVERED TRANSACTION.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘covered transaction’ means— 
‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), any 
purchase if— 
‘‘(A) such purchase occurs or is cleared on 
a facility located in the United States, or 
‘‘(B) the purchaser or seller is a United 
States person, and 
‘‘(2) any transaction with respect to a security 
described in subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of sub-
section (e)(1), if— 
‘‘(A) such security is traded or cleared on 
a facility located in the United States, or 
‘‘(B) any party with rights under such se-
curity is a United States person. 
‘‘(e) SECURITY AND OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
term 
‘security’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) any share of stock in a corporation, 
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‘‘(B) any partnership or beneficial owner-
ship interest in a partnership or trust, 
‘‘(C) any note, bond, debenture, or other 
evidence of indebtedness, other than a State or 
local bond the interest of which is excluded 
from gross income under section 103(a), 
‘‘(D) any evidence of an interest in, or a 
derivative financial instrument with respect to, 
any security or securities described in subpara-
graph (A), (B), or (C), 
‘‘(E) any derivative financial instrument 
with respect to any currency or commodity in-
cluding notional principal contracts, and 
‘‘(F) any other derivative financial instru-
ment any payment with respect to which is cal-
culated by reference to any specified index. 
‘‘(2) DERIVATIVE
FINANCIAL
INSTRUMENT.— 
The term ‘derivative financial instrument’ includes 
any option, forward contract, futures contract, no-
tional principal contract, or any similar financial in-
strument. 
‘‘(3) SPECIFIED
INDEX.—The term ‘specified 
index’ means any 1 or more of any combination of— 
‘‘(A) a fixed rate, price, or amount, or 
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‘‘(B) a variable rate, price, or amount, 
which is based on any current objectively deter-
minable information which is not within the 
control of any of the parties to the contract or 
instrument and is not unique to any of the par-
ties’ circumstances. 
‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF EXCHANGES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An exchange shall be 
treated as the sale of the property transferred 
and a purchase of the property received by each 
party to the exchange. 
‘‘(B) CERTAIN DEEMED EXCHANGES.—In 
the case of a distribution treated as an ex-
change for stock under section 302 or 331, the 
corporation making such distribution shall be 
treated as having purchased such stock for pur-
poses of this section. 
‘‘(f) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) EXCEPTION FOR INITIAL ISSUES.—No tax 
shall be imposed under subsection (a) on any cov-
ered transaction with respect to the initial issuance 
of any security described in subparagraph (A), (B), 
or (C) of subsection (e)(1). 
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‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TRADED SHORT- 
TERM INDEBTEDNESS.—A note, bond, debenture, or 
other evidence of indebtedness which— 
‘‘(A) is traded on a trading facility located 
in the United States, and 
‘‘(B) has a fixed maturity of not more 
than 60 days, 
shall not be treated as described in subsection 
(e)(1)(C). 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR SECURITIES LENDING AR-
RANGEMENTS.—No tax shall be imposed under sub-
section (a) on any covered transaction with respect 
to which gain or loss is not recognized by reason of 
section 1058. 
‘‘(g) BY WHOM PAID.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The tax imposed by this 
section shall be paid by— 
‘‘(A) in the case of a transaction which oc-
curs or is cleared on a facility located in the 
United States, such facility, and 
‘‘(B) in the case of a purchase not de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) which is executed 
by a broker (as defined in section 6045(c)(1)), 
the broker. 
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‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULES
FOR
DIRECT, 
ETC., 
TRANSACTIONS.—In the case of any transaction to 
which paragraph (1) does not apply, the tax imposed 
by this section shall be paid by— 
‘‘(A) in the case of a transaction described 
in subsection (d)(1)— 
‘‘(i) the purchaser if the purchaser is 
a United States person, and 
‘‘(ii) the seller if the purchaser is not 
a United States person, and 
‘‘(B) in the case of a transaction described 
in subsection (d)(2)— 
‘‘(i) the payor if the payor is a United 
States person, and 
‘‘(ii) the payee if the payor is not a 
United States person. 
‘‘(h) CERTAIN PAYMENTS TREATED AS SEPARATE 
TRANSACTIONS.—Except as otherwise provided by the 
Secretary, any payment with respect to a security de-
scribed in subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of subsection 
(e)(1) shall be treated as a separate transaction for pur-
poses of this section, including— 
‘‘(1) any net initial payment, net final or termi-
nating payment, or net periodical payment with re-
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spect to a notional principal contract (or similar fi-
nancial instrument), 
‘‘(2) any payment with respect to any forward 
contract (or similar financial instrument), and 
‘‘(3) any premium paid with respect to any op-
tion (or similar financial instrument). 
‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall carry 
out this section in consultation with the Securities and Ex-
change Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission. 
‘‘(j) GUIDANCE; REGULATIONS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) provide guidance regarding such informa-
tion reporting concerning covered transactions as the 
Secretary deems appropriate, including reporting by 
the payor of the tax in cases where the payor is not 
the purchaser, and 
‘‘(2) prescribe such regulations as are necessary 
or appropriate to prevent avoidance of the purposes 
of this section, including the use of non-United 
States persons in such transactions.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub-
chapters for chapter 36 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
subchapter B the following new item: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER C. TAX ON TRADING TRANSACTIONS’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to transactions after December 31, 
2012. 
SEC. 4. OFFSETTING CREDIT FOR FINANCIAL TRANS-
ACTION TAX. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is 
amended by inserting after section 25D the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 25E. FINANCIAL TRANSACTION TAX PAYMENTS. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in-
dividual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 
imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an amount 
equal to the tax paid during the taxable year under section 
4475. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION BASED ON MODIFIED ADJUSTED 
GROSS INCOME.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not 
apply to a taxpayer for the taxable year if the modi-
fied adjusted gross income of the taxpayer for the 
taxable year exceeds $50,000 ($75,000 in the case 
of a joint return and one-half of such amount in the 
case of a married individual filing a separate re-
turn). 
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‘‘(2) MODIFIED
ADJUSTED
GROSS
INCOME.— 
For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘modified 
adjusted gross income’ means adjusted gross in-
come— 
‘‘(A) determined without regard to sections 
86, 893, 911, 931, and 933, and 
‘‘(B) increased by the amount of interest 
received or accrued by the taxpayer during the 
taxable year which is exempt from tax. 
‘‘(3) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In the case of any 
taxable year beginning after 2013, each dollar 
amount referred to in paragraph (1) shall be in-
creased by an amount equal to— 
‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de-
termined under section (1)(f)(3) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 for the cal-
endar year in which the taxable year be-
gins, by substituting ‘2012’ for ‘1992’. 
‘‘(B) ROUNDING.—If any amount as ad-
justed under clause (i) is not a multiple of $50, 
such amount shall be rounded to the nearest 
multiple of $50. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible indi-
vidual’ means, with respect to any taxable year, an 
individual who— 
‘‘(A) has attained the age of 18 as of the 
last day of such taxable year, and 
‘‘(B) is a citizen or lawful permanent resi-
dent (within the meaning of section 7701(b)(6)) 
as of the last day of such taxable year. 
‘‘(2) CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS NOT ELIGIBLE.— 
For purposes of paragraph (1), an individual de-
scribed in any of the following provisions of this title 
for the preceding taxable year shall not be treated 
as an eligible individual for the taxable year: 
‘‘(A) An individual who is a student (as 
defined in section 152(f)(2)) for the taxable 
year or the immediately preceding taxable year. 
‘‘(B) An individual who is a taxpayer de-
scribed in subsection (c), (d), or (e) of section 
6402 for the immediately preceding taxable 
year. 
‘‘(C) A married individual who files a sepa-
rate return for the taxable year.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
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of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 25D the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 25E. Financial transaction tax payments.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2012. 
Æ 
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