奥巴马银行业征税提议或遭法律挑战

在奥巴马政府向银行业征税的问题上，大型投行的看法正在出现分歧。正当某些公司呼吁应在日益上升的政治压力面前保持谨慎之际，一家行业游说机构已经在探索采取法律行动。
Divisions are emerging among large investment banks over the Obama administration's banking levy, with one industry lobby exploring legal action even as some individual companies urge caution in face of the growing political backlash.

美国证券业与金融市场协会(Sifma)证实，它已聘用Sidley Austin律师事务所管理合伙人卡特．菲利普斯(Carter Phillips)，研究如何来应对这个它称之为“极有针对性与惩罚性的税种”。
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association confirmed that it has hired Carter Phillips, a managing partner at the law firm Sidley Austin, to study how to respond to what it called a “very targeted and punitive tax”.

但Sifma昨日表示，目前讨论它可能采取何种行动“还为时过早”。有迹象表明，可能不是所有的会员银行都支持这种仅凭一个像菲利普斯这样的律师就能发起的宪法挑战。
But in a sign that all its member banks may not support the kind of constitutional challenge that an attorney such as Mr Phillips could mount, Sifma yesterday said that it was “premature” to discuss what action it might take.

巴拉克．奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统上周警告银行不要用“游说者方阵……或律师军团”来挑战新税种。“我建议你们考虑一种做法，那就是尽到你们的责任。”
President Barack Obama last week warned banks not to challenge the new tax with a “phalanx of lobbyists . . . or an army of lawyers”. “I suggest you might want to consider simply meeting your responsibilities.”

一些银行家可能正按照总统的话去做。一名知情律师表示：“我认为整个行业正处在某种程度的混乱当中。说到Sifma比其主要会员银行更早摆脱了这种混乱，我对此表示怀疑。”该名律师表示，首席执行官们正在问自己，考虑到政治反冲，赢得法庭宣判该税种违宪的胜利，会不会反而得不偿失。
Some bankers might be taking the president at his word. “I think the industry is in some disarray and I suspect Sifma got out ahead of its key members,” said one attorney familiar with the matter. Chief executives are asking whether a legal victory that found the tax to be unconstitutional would be worth the backlash, the attorney said.

他说：“在这个问题上，有些人想得很周全。据我所知，摩根大通(JPMorgan)正呼吁大家在采取行动前保持谨慎。”
“Some people are being very thoughtful about this. I know JPMorgan is urging caution before running into this,” the attorney said.