Goldman Sachs threatens Spanish move

[FarCenter]

By Simon Evans - Sunday, 20 December 2009

Goldman Sachs has threatened the UK Treasury with plans to move up to 20 per cent of its London-based staff to Spain in a standoff over tax and bonuses.

It's believed that the Wall Street investment bank, which paid more than £2bn to the Exchequer's ailing coffers in corporation tax alone last year, has fired a warning shot across the Government's bows in response to the tax measures unveiled in the pre-Budget report earlier this month.

Goldman Sachs International was the biggest contributor from the financial services sector to Britain's purse last year. Previous reports suggest that in some years the firm's staff have contributed more than £1bn in personal income tax to public coffers.

A City source said: "Goldman could move a relatively large number of people if it wants to. Given how much Goldman and its staff contribute to the tax take, the firm has plenty of leverage. This is a bargaining position more than anything."

The bank, which employs around 5,000 staff in London, is believed to have strong links to the Spanish government, although it has a relatively modest number of employees in the country. Although staff moving to Spain would not receive any special tax incentives, the bank could avoid paying the bonus tax, details of which, so far, remain sketchy. A Goldman Sachs spokesman said it is looking at all options as it negotiates with the tax authorities over the bonus tax.

<SNIP>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/goldman-sachs-threatens-spanish-move-1845582.html

[lxlxlxl]

1. i hope people are paying attention...this is the nature of global finance at its worst

hop around the globe going from tax haven to tax haven...dragging 'talent'(i use that term loosely) from global capital to global capital, ducking all responsibilities to states, and in their ability to do so, illustrate that in fact these global financiers are their own parallel nation-state system. what is their loyalty? who do they think they are?

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. More blackmail from the money class

[bbinacan]

3. The UK fucked up. n/t