Managed Funds Association opposes financial transaction tax

An industry group representing hedge funds and the alternative investment management industry announced its opposition to a proposed tax on financial transactions Friday.

“The proposed financial transaction tax will ultimately be paid by nearly 800,000 of New Jersey’s teachers, firefighters, and police officers who rely on their pensions for retirement,” Managed Funds Association President Bryan Corbett said. “Pensions, foundations, and endowments depend on alternative investments to provide necessary returns to their beneficiaries in all market conditions. The proposed FTT will make this work more difficult and studies show that FTTs don’t raise as much money as advertised.”

The Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee is set to hold a hearing on the proposal, which would levy a quarter-of-a-cent tax per financial transaction on individuals or institutions who process more than 10,000 such transactions using New Jersey’s electronic infrastructure in a calendar year.

The panel won’t vote on the bill then, and the proposal is likely to see significant changes before moving forward.

Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin have all spoken favorably about the proposal, despite threats from the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Inc. to relocate their transaction processing to other states.