Florida GOP congressman beckons New York Stock Exchange to move to Florida

"We have a lot of nice land here in southwest Florida," said Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds.

Published: February 17, 2021 9:56am

Updated: February 17, 2021 3:18pm

Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds is urging The New York Stock Exchange to leave Lower Manhattan for Florida.

Donalds argued such a move would benefit the exchange because Florida has no tax on stock trades.

"Oh I do," Donalds said in response to a question on whether the NYSE should leave Wall Street for Florida. "We have a lot of nice land here in southwest Florida we can find a nice place for them right here in the heart of my congressional district."

The Brooklyn-born congressman made the comments on NTD.com, following a New York proposed a bill earlier this month that would impose a tax on financial transactions like stocks and bonds, and tax financial service firms such as hedge funds.

Donalds argued that because of Covid-19 people didn't need to stay in New York or Manhattan to work on the exchange.

"You can do that anywhere in the country, frankly in the world," he said. "But I think they should do that right here in Florida."