Republican Proposal Would Tax Largest Banks

In a surprising turnaround, the largest U.S. banks appear to be in the slightly shaky crosshairs of Republicans, who are proposing a 3.5 percent tax on banks with assets exceeding $500 billion.

The proposal from Representative Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, first reported in Bloomberg News, would raise taxes on 10 companies, including the largest banks and non-banking institutions such as General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)’s financing arm. The bank tax is projected to raise $86.4 billion for the U.S. government over the next decade, the report noted, as it said the likelihood was...