The New York Stock Exchange could leave New York State if Albany imposes a transfer tax on stock sales, the president of the Intercontinental Exchange traded on Tuesday, in an opinion published in the Wall Street Journal.
NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said she and 25 others in the New York securities industry sent a letter to state lawmakers last Wednesday warning of the unintended consequences of imposing such a tax, which would be in trace borne by investors.
“The New York Stock Exchange belongs to New York. However, if Albany lawmakers make their way, the center of the global financial industry may need to find a new home, ”she said.
An NYSE representative declined to comment further.
New York State is facing severe budget shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting some state lawmakers to introduce a bill that would tax certain financial transactions.
The idea of a new transaction tax seems to have little support for the governor’s office.
When the subject appeared at a January news conference, budget director Robert Mujica said a lot of ideas about such taxes “were not discharged,” according to a copy of remarks provided to Reuters by a New York State official. Budget sharing.
Mujica pointed to a financial tax that was proposed last year in New Jersey, where many stock exchanges host their servers, and noted that the exchanges quickly mobilized to temporarily move their employees and activity out of state.
The pandemic has shown that people can do business anywhere, he said. “So if we raise the tax like that, mobilize people, potentially just move your transactions and servers to another part of the country where these taxes don’t exist.”