The biggest U.S. banks and insurance companies would have to pay a quarterly 3.5 basis-point tax on assets exceeding $500 billion under a plan to be unveiled this week by Congress’s top Republican tax writer, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The proposal by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, would raise taxes for about 10 companies deemed systemically important. The tax, which would raise $86.4 billion for the U.S. government over the next decade, would likely affect JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, all of which had more than $500 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, according to the Federal Reserve. The bank tax, which isn’t likely to become law this year, is part of a comprehensive plan to be released by Camp to lower corporate and individual rates and broaden the tax base.
