Question: I came across a link from Scott Smith, who is running for president, about a Financial Settlement Tax (not FTT). The aim is to tax financial payments in the US, which are expected to be worth $4515 trillion each year: "Every year, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, produces the Red Book, which details the amount of payments for most of the world's major countries. The Federal Reserve keeps track of payments in the US and sends the information to the BIS for inclusion in the Red Book. The publishing of the Red Book is overseen by the BIS's Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures. Payments to the International Financial Settlement are documented and published, and a fraction of a percent can be deducted and transparently displayed on the Internet." My inquiries are as follows: 1) With a 0.1 percent tax, what proportion of settlements would be lost? My guess is that a large number of very low margin trades would be subject to such a levy. 2) What market distortions would be introduced if you could remove roughly 30% out of the economy without anyone noticing