Will US banking giants move to London after US banking levy is introduced?
In a rather bizarre quirk of fate, the announcement by Barrack Obama of a levy against the US banking sector to replenish taxpayer's funds may well play into the hands of the London market. Despite the fact that the UK government is pressing ahead with a 50% banking bonus tax the playing fields between the US and UK are now more level than they have been for some weeks. On the face of it, it seems as though the US levy system will cost the banking system more in the short term than the UK government's new banking bonus tax. So who will win the battle?
Whether or not either the UK or the US benefit from the various levies and taxes introduced remains to be seen or perhaps we could see the emergence of a new worldwide financial centre away from the US and the UK?
However, in many ways this could turn out to be a short-term phenomenon which quickly evaporates and is forgotten about by the banking sector. Despite accusations of over taxation and over regulation from the worldwide financial sector there is no doubt that companies operating in this area have been ready for the backlash and the taxpayer fund repayment schemes now coming to the fore. Is this really nothing but a storm in a teacup?
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