US President Barack Obama today proposed a tax on Wall Street"s biggest banks to recover more than 100 billion dollars in bail-out funds handed out at the height of a devastating financial crisis, according to dpa. Obama slammed the financial industry for returning to "business as usual," earning huge profits and paying out big bonuses just months after Wall Street"s collapse sent the world economy hurtling into a deep recession. But Obama also said the emergency government loans that have propped up the industry since October 2008 were now projected to cost just 117 billion dollars, down from 341 billion dollars forecast in August. Congress had approved up to 700 billion dollars for the financial rescue, but most major banks have repayed their loans more quickly than expected as the industry stabilized over the past year. "My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed," Obama said at the White House, flanked by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. If approved by Congress, the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee would be in place for at least 10 years, until the 117 billion dollars is paid back in full. It applies only to the country"s largest banks - those with assets of more than 50 billion dollars. The tax level will differ from bank to bank. The biggest firms, and those with the highest debt levels, will face the largest fees in a bid to curb excessive risk-taking. About 60 per cent will be raised from the country"s 10 largest financial firms. Obama suggested the new tax was in direct response to the billions of dollars in bonuses that Wall Street"s banks are expected to hand out to their executives this year, prompting widespread anger among a US public that is still weathering tough economic times. "We want our money back, and we"re gonna get it," Obama said. "My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people - folks who have not been made whole, and who continue to face real hardship in this recession," he said. Britain and France have also imposed a one-time tax of 50 per cent on bank bonuses paid in 2009 in an effort to discourage the practice. The financial industry has been up in arms over the proposals. "This proposed tax will do nothing more than stifle economic recovery and encumber more pressing concerns, such as covering new regulatory costs," said Steve Bartlett, president of the Financial Services Roundtable, a lobby group for the industry. Executives of Wall Street"s four biggest banks - Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America - appeared before a combative congressional panel on Wednesday to answer for their role in the financial crisis. They offered regret for "mistakes" but no outright apology for the turmoil unleashed on the world economy.
