Bankers furious at UK bonus supertax

[ensho]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c29c2988-e4fc-11de-9a25-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

Bankers in the City of London reacted with fury to UK government plans to levy an immediate 50 per cent supertax on banks’ bonus pay-outs, saying the move played into the hands of rival financial centres.

In his annual pre-Budget report, outlining government spending and revenue plans, Alistair Darling, the UK finance minister, announced a 50 per cent levy on discretionary bonus pay-outs to curb big bank bonuses that have provoked public anger. He said banks that had been battered by the financial crisis should be rebuilding their capital rather than paying out generous bonuses to their staff.

Mr Darling justified the exceptional levy by arguing that banks had generated excess profits as a direct, or indirect, result of the government’s bail-out of the banking system. The windfall tax will apply to all banks and building societies, including groups that operate in the UK under a European Union branch system.

The levy, to be paid by banks, will come on top of the marginal tax applied to individuals’ bonus pay-outs. “We hope it will be a disincentive for banks to pay bonuses,” said one Treasury official.

-snip-

Bankers said the new tax – on top of the 50 per cent top rate of tax, due to be introduced in April, and an earlier squeeze on UK-resident non-domiciled individuals – could damage the City as a global financial centre.

“I can’t tell you how many people have called me from London asking to move,” a senior Wall Street banker said. “The question all the banks have now is: who the hell wants to be in the UK? Some businesses will definitely leave.”
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to the furious greedy bankers I say tough titties, pay up or move - but not to the US.

[havocmom]

1. Tell them to get a haircuts and real jobs if they don't like their gigs

;)

[SoCalDem]

2. Gee how sad for them

NOT!!

Greedy bastards have taken us all for a ride for too many years.. Let them get jobs laying tile, or teaching, or mucking out stalls..

[mike_c]

3. my GAWD! A guaranteed effective way to rid a city of its plague of bankers....

:rofl:

[ensho]

5. hey, your on to something!

nt

[Sub Atomic]

4. And in other news, hookers upset about new tax on condoms.

:nopity:

[Kievan Rus]

6. Tell the banksters to shut the #$%^ up

[classysassy]

7. The crooks are unhappy

they want the greed to continue.

[Nikki Stone1]

8. Let's give them a choice: 50% of your bonus or 50% of your dick: you decide.

How many of them would hack off an inch or two? :rofl:

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. It takes a socialst administration to stand up to the bankers. nt

[Skidmore]

10. Some of my UK friends on Facebook were passing around a petition for this measure.

I thought it was great that the public was making such a demand and then remembered that I haven't seen such an outcry from our nation, most of whom think they will win the lottery and be in the same income bracket as the bankers.