ABI calls for sensitive approach to taxation issues
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has today issued a statement urging remuneration committees on various UK public companies to be careful over share awards in the future. The ABI has also commented upon the UK government's forthcoming 50% tax band on banking bonuses and again advised that remuneration committees refrain from potentially expensive tax avoidance and tax reduction schemes for leading directors.
In many ways it seems that UK investors, both corporate and individual, believe that directors in the UK need to feel the pain that consumers and traditional businesses are feeling. There is also a need to refrain from excessive share awards for directors, where share prices have collapsed, because potentially these could be seen to be opportunistic moves. There appears to be a growing wave of resentment from investors and indeed we have seen a number of proposed remuneration packages voted down over the last few months.
This subtle yet highly relevant suggestion from the ABI is something which remuneration committees around the UK would do well to appreciate and consider when they next sit down to review bonus and remuneration packages. Whether they will do so remains to be seen, but investors certainly appear ready to step up to the mark and place pressure upon those in charge of the purse strings.
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