Is it true that banks will charge a 1% fee on direct deposit?

“I had a friend tell me that the banks are going to start charging 1% fee for direct deposit. Is that true?” The Newton Falls Public Library staff had not heard of this before, and agreed that it would certainly be information that consumers would want to know.

As this was a more current issue than might ordinarily be found in books, we began our search online. To ensure that we were getting good information, we went to the online database MasterFILE Premier (EBSCOhost). This is an online storage site for print magazines, journals, newspapers, etc.  This resource may be accessed by going to our website and selecting OhioWebLibrary. While there were numerous articles about bank fees, there were none pertaining to a surcharge on direct deposit.

Using an Internet search engine, we did find a website which addressed this concern,  AskFactCheck. According to the site, the idea of a 1% tax on all bank transactions was first discussed in 2004 as a possible replacement for the federal income tax. From the information posted on the website, it appears that while it has been brought up several times since then, it has neither gotten a co-sponsor nor left committee.

We were able to reassure out patron that, at the moment, his pension would not have a surcharge put on it. For patrons interested in financial issues, the library subscribes to Forbes, Kiplinger’s, Money, and the Wall Street Journal.