The trading tax has been hanging over the heads of traders for a long time now. I almost wish they would just create a proper experiment to test it and then repeal it after it inevitably fails (see Sweden for a prime example).<p>The SEC seems to enjoy &quot;experiments&quot; - the large tick pilot (testing variations on requiring some small cap stocks to trade in increments larger than a penny) is an example of a massive upcoming one. While the large tick pilot suffers from many things - a huge cost to brokers for a dubiously structured experiment - at least it shows a willingness for the SEC to attempt structured experiments. This should be no different.<p>P.S. For those interested in Sweden - a report considering a transaction tax in Canada that discusses it: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.publications.gc.ca&#x2F;collections&#x2F;Collection-R&#x2F;LoPBdP&#x2F;BP&#x2F;bp419-e.htm" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.publications.gc.ca&#x2F;collections&#x2F;Collection-R&#x2F;LoPBd...</a>