Even if such paranoia were justified, slimming down this market via a transaction levy would be an application of brute force when bank funding is already fragile.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Transaction-Tax Climbdown

Most of the supermarkets levy a transaction fee if you sell a no-load-no- transaction-fee fund within 45 to 90 days.

FORBES: Mutual fund supermarkets

Labour backbencher John McDonnell urged ministers to review the possibility of incorporating a bank financial transaction tax within the bank levy.

BBC: Finance (No.3) Bill

One, it is vulnerable to provision of the Durbin Amendment, a set of laws that among other things allows banks to levy higher fees on small debit card transaction.

FORBES: Coinstar: Morgan Keegan Cuts Rating; What About Digital?

Estimates for the levy range from 0.1% to 1% of the value of each foreign-exchange transaction.

ECONOMIST: The Tobin tax: Roasting an old chestnut | The