Could JP Morgan really leave the UK?
As we covered earlier today, financial giant JP Morgan is on the verge of pulling out of a £1.5 billion office development in the Docklands. The company had planned to make London its European headquarters and the new £1.5 billion project was going to be the central point of the company's expansion in the future. However, the UK government appears to have upset the US giant with the ongoing banking tax and its constant attack on the UK financial sector.
While there are some people who believe that JP Morgan is "playing the game" there are others who believe the company is serious about potentially leaving the UK and making another European country its head office. This would be a bitter blow to the UK financial sector as JP Morgan, along with other US financial giants, has become one of the major players in the UK financial market. The UK government is playing a very dangerous game and in many ways has more to lose than it has to gain.
It is not necessarily the amount of tax which will be taken from banking employees which has upset the likes of JP Morgan, more the fact that the UK government appears to have turned against the financial sector after being so supportive over the last decade.
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