Alistair Darling admits that banking super tax has failed
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling has this week delivered a speech suggesting that his "banking super tax" which was supposed to hit those receiving bonuses in excess of £25,000 a year has effectively failed. He believes that due to the very loose wording of the regulations it was particularly easy for many of the high profile financial companies to potentially delay any payments to "reduce" employee tax liabilities.
However, Alastair Darling also believes that the real reason for the introduction of the super tax was to send a message to the UK financial industry that the sector would need to pay its fair share to repair the UK PLC balance sheet and repay UK taxpayers who invested massive amounts of money to save the UK banking industry. Interestingly he also believes that we will not see a repeat of the banking super tax in the future despite growing calls for the introduction of a harsher tax regime for those in the upper echelons of the UK financial industry.
Historically super taxes and similar one-off arrangements tend to be fairly easy to avoid by simply delaying the payment of bonuses until such times as the increased tax levels are not applicable.
Share this..
Related stories
Public Borrowing Rises Yet Again
At the moment there seems very little let up in the raft of down beat economic surveys, results and figures. This trend continued today with figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that government borrowing for the month of May hit a record £11 billion. When you also consider that the April figure was revised upwards by a substantial £2.3 billion, it is not looking at all good...
Read MoreUK taxpayers take another hit
With news that Lloyds bank has bad debts of more than £13 billion and reported a £4 billion loss for the half-year, UK taxpayers have taken another beating with regards to the value of share stakes held on their behalf. Despite assurances from the UK government from day one, the situation is going from bad to worse with Northern Rock actually lending more money each month from taxpayers rather t...
Read MoreUK government raises terrorist threat level
The UK government has tonight increased the UK terrorist threat from substantial to severe amid suggestions that the authorities have information regarding a potential Al Qaeda attack next week. It is possible that an increase in the terrorist threat around the globe could impact upon the worldwide economy which is still suffering from the economic downturn of 2009. There are also concerns that...
Read MoreUK government attacks bereaved families
The loss of a loved one can be a heavy burden for anybody to carry in the UK and finance is unlikely to be the first thing on your mind. However the UK government has increased the fine for late payment of inheritance tax to 3% from next month. Some people may be aware that inheritance tax payments are due to be paid within six months of the person's death even though in some cases it can take lon...
Read MoreTaxpayers set to feel the strain
As the UK budget comes under more and more pressure with a £175 billion deficit expected this year alone, many taxpayers are already braced for a significant increase in their taxes. Despite what the government and opposition parties are saying in the House of Commons and in the press there is no doubt that taxes will need to rise, and rise quickly, in order to put the UK government budget back o...
Read More