Originally Posted by RichieLion

Of course, you're right that the tax is aimed at stock purchases and transfers and not, as yet under this proposal, on normal banking transactions. I should have clarified it myself earlier, but the scheme still affects most people in today's market. Almost all of us have 401Ks, like you mentioned, and some sort of stock portfolio and will have to figure the cost of this new proposed tax into every action we take with these accounts.
But you have to admit, some taxes we pay today were expansions of modest tax proposals we at one time thought were not too much of a burden. A transaction tax, once implemented, will give a sort of "precedence" mentality to enacting the taxes that the original poster jumped the gun on. It's the old "slippery slope" effect.