It is based on the fundamental view of taxation as a "public brokerage fee accessed by the government to pay for the provision of the monetary, legal and political institutions that protect private property rights and facilitate market trade and commerce.
[5] Feige first presented the idea of taxing all transactions at the International Institute of Public Finance meetings in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1989.
"[7] On April 28, 2005, the APT proposal was presented to the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform in Washington, DC.
[13] In 2019, the Lighthouse Law Club, led by Mark Emery Boswell, began supporting and promoting the idea.
[8] The APT Tax non-profit organization advocated for an Automated Payment Transaction Tax writes that under the plan that financial account opened by a taxable organization or individual would pay the same percentage on all incoming and outgoing funds on the account.
This automatic collection feature eliminates the need for individuals and firms to file tax and information returns.
"[8] Some raise concerns about privacy—believing that such a tax would allow the government to see each transaction in the economy; however, Dr. Bill Hermann writes that it "only collects money by software in financial institutions.
Simulations of the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances demonstrate that high income and wealthy individuals undertake a disproportionate volume of transactions since they own a disproportionate share of financial assets that have relatively high turnover rates.
In 2016, Andrew VanHook wrote on his website promoting the proposal that the APT Tax would lead to more fairness in taxation.
"According to the Government Accountability Office, 65% of US companies, and 45% of US Households, pay nothing in taxes... [which] places a huge burden on the rest of us.
"[24] Because the APT Tax would radically affect taxation and the US economy, Dr. Feige recommends a 3 phase implementation.