--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even utopias need a tax clause. For…" description: "\"“Even utopias need a tax clause. For example, we could start with a transactions tax to rein in the financial industry. Back in 1970, American stocks w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d93/rutger-bregman-2463_five-years_even-utopias-need-a-tax-clause-for-examp_2247413.jpg" --- # Even utopias need a tax clause. For example, we could… ![“Even utopias need a tax clause. For example, we could start with a transactions tax to rein in the financial industry. Back in 1970, American stocks were still held for an average of five years; forty years later, it’s a mere five days.21 If we imposed a transactions tax – where you would have to…” quote by Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d93/rutger-bregman-2463_five-years_even-utopias-need-a-tax-clause-for-examp_2247413.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d93/rutger-bregman-2463_five-years_even-utopias-need-a-tax-clause-for-examp_2247413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d93/rutger-bregman-2463_five-years_even-utopias-need-a-tax-clause-for-examp_2247413.jpg) > ““Even utopias need a tax clause. For example, we could start with a transactions tax to rein in the financial industry. Back in 1970, American stocks were still held for an average of five years; forty years later, it’s a mere five days.21 If we imposed a transactions tax – where you would have to pay a fee each time you buy or sell a stock – those high-frequency traders who contribute almost nothing of social value would no longer profit from split-second buying and selling of financial assets. In”” [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A modest transaction tax could curb speculative trading and fund public good, addressing modern market volatility. **In simple terms:** Taxing trades can limit harmful speculation. Key Takeaway Implement a small fee on each trade. Themes economics policy fairness Mood analytical concerned Type policy economic When to use this quote - stock markets - government budgeting - public finance - financial reform Key Concepts taxation financial regulation social equity Questions to Reflect On - Would a tax deter beneficial trading? - How to balance revenue with market efficiency? A Different Perspective Opponents argue it may reduce market liquidity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Imposed Transactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposed-transactions-5118891/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Need Tax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-tax-441080/) [Tax Clause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tax-clause-5118889/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Transactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transactions/) [Transactions Tax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transactions-tax-2352513/) ## Related quotes > [We need to have a tax system that rewards work and not just financial transactions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-have-a-tax-system-that-rewards-work-and-not-just-financial/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Creating a Financial Transactions Tax would go a long way to curbing short-term speculative trading, including high-frequency trading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharan-burrow/creating-a-financial-transactions-tax-would-go-a-long-way-to-curbing/) [Sharan Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharan-burrow/) > [We need to consider a financial transactions tax. And we need to ask whether the top marginal tax rates are really appropriate, given that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-buttigieg/we-need-to-consider-a-financial-transactions-tax-and-we-need-to-ask/) [Pete Buttigieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-buttigieg/) > [Loyalty is dead, the experts proclaim, and the statistics seem to bear them out. On average, U.S. corporations now lose half their customers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reichheld/loyalty-is-dead-the-experts-proclaim-and-the-statistics-seem-to-bear/) [Fred Reichheld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reichheld/) > [Look, rich people already have a lot of money. 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And - that you can put on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/i-think-you-need-to-have-a-tax-system-that-basically-is-flat-fair-and/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [We need a tax system that essentially takes very good care of the people who just really aren't as well adapted to the market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-need-a-tax-system-that-essentially-takes-very-good-care-of-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Corporations and billionaires should pay their fair share while hard-working Texas families need a tax cut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-allred/corporations-and-billionaires-should-pay-their-fair-share-while-hard/) [Colin Allred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-allred/) > [“Sare! Why are you giving me your tax face?’ ‘I'm not.’ ‘You are.’ Pause. ‘Shit, I'll need to do my tax soon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-anne-holmes/sare-why-are-you-giving-me-your-tax-face-i-m-not-you-are-pause-shit-i/) [Lucy-Anne Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-anne-holmes/) > [I belong to a church and I try to do my Christian duty, so I am against alcohol... But we need the tax money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-allen/i-belong-to-a-church-and-i-try-to-do-my-christian-duty-so-i-am/) [Walter Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-allen/) > [Maybe we need a tax credit for the poorest Americans to buy a laptop. Now, maybe that's wrong, maybe that's expensive, maybe we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/maybe-we-need-a-tax-credit-for-the-poorest-americans-to-buy-a-laptop/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) ## More by Rutger Bregman > [“If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world’s poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/if-all-the-developed-countries-would-let-in-just-3-more-immigrants/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“When Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008, and inaugurated the biggest crisis since the 1930s, there were no real alternatives to hand. 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There’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/precisely-when-we-should-be-shouldering-the-historic-task-of/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/believing-in-the-good-of-humanity-is-a-revolutionary-act-it-means/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Poor people aren't making dumb decisions because they are dumb, but because they're living in a context in which anyone would make dumb decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/poor-people-aren-t-making-dumb-decisions-because-they-are-dumb-but/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The bottom line is that wealth can be concentrated somewhere, but that doesn’t also mean that’s where it’s being created. This is just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-bottom-line-is-that-wealth-can-be-concentrated-somewhere-but-that/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Recently, the International Monetary Fund published a report which revealed that too much inequality even inhibits economic growth.22 Perhaps the most fascinating finding, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/recently-the-international-monetary-fund-published-a-report-which/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Not coincidentally, the countries with the shortest workweeks also have the largest number of volunteers and the most social capital.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/not-coincidentally-the-countries-with-the-shortest-workweeks-also/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [It matters so much that from a very early age we encounter different kinds of different people, because that's what real life should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/it-matters-so-much-that-from-a-very-early-age-we-encounter-different/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) [Explore all 164 Rutger Bregman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## More Five years quotes > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. 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