The only certainties in this world are death and tax hikes. On Thursday, President Obama will propose a steep tax increase for large financial firms in order to raise $90 billion over the next decade and discourage the risky investments that yield obscene monetary awards. The proposed tax, which will need congressional approval, would apply to about 50 banks, insurance companies, and Wall Street trading firms with assets greater than $50 billion, including Citigroup and AIG. Under the new tax, companies would pay an annual "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee" of $1,500 for every $1 million borrowed to finance lending and other activities. If the government's loss on the bailout is greater than $90 million, the tax will continue until that money is recovered, otherwise, the tax will expire after 10 years. J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that "using tax policy to punish people is a bad idea," while a senior administration official said that due to the benefit financial firms received from the bailout, "this is essentially the least they could do.”
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