Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
Ah, but not all financial transactions are the same. Using an ATM to withdraw cash, even at an ATM not owned or operated by my bank, is NOT the same thing as my broker charging a flat fee based on my portfolio value, or a transaction fee for every trade when I sell stocks.

Even without "taxes" there are fees that translate to a penalty for use. If I were a small business owner, I probably wouldn't accept any kind of card, debit or credit. It would make me happier to simply price things for what they cost, without having to add on the "subsidy" for bank card users. If they object, it'd be easy to refer them to the ATM next door. (In America, we have an ATM about every 500 fucking yards.)

OR, I'd give (what looks like) a discount to anyone who paid cash, and pass on the real costs of credit/debit cards to the users.

There are probably accountants and tax collectors who love ATMs and all those digital records of "financial transactions". From that end, any financial transaction is seen as a taxable source. Or that merchants and workers might "fudge" cash transactions.

I don't mind paying legitimate service taxes, I just don't like the fees the banks add on for the purpose of converting my good credit into cash, and how they pass that on to merchants. It's double dipping.
They aren't all the same, but they often serve a basic similar purpose of exchanging liquid assets. Cash, stocks, homes, promisory notes, etc. Is you withdrawing the cash you own from an ATM much different than withdrawing the liquidity from stocks that you own?

Both involve redeeming an intangible asset that is being held for you by an institution.