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2012 Games ticket prices released Ticket prices for events at the 2012 London Olympic Games are released, with the coveted men's 100m final costing up to £725. bbc.co.uk |
Bank levy: what the experts say The banking industry is facing up to details of a bank levy due to be imposed on it by the TreasuryThe Treasury today slapped a £2.5bn a year levy on the banking industry but some of the major banks will still be better off as a result of corporation tax cuts being implemented in the next four years. Here is what experts had to say on the levy:Brendan Barber, TUC general secretaryThis is a pathetically small amount to demand from the banks. Ministers have come up with the smallest number that they think they can get away with, even though the banks are carrying forward £19bn of tax losses to offset against future tax bills – losses that have been bailed out by the taxpayer.Those who caused the recession will be cracking open the champagne today, while the full extent of the attacks on the living standards of poor and middle income Britain are starting to sink in.With government MPs yesterday cheering cuts in support for some of the most vulnerable in society, it looks like we have gone back to the 1980s greed-is-good culture.Nic Clarke, banking analyst at Charles StanleyThis announcement was largely as expected (little impact on UK banks' share prices) with the levy expected to generate around £2.5bn of annual revenues when fully in place. Chancellor George Osborne said that he wanted to "extract the maximum sustainable tax revenues from financial services" which plays to those who believe that all the current troubles are to be blamed on the banks. However, we believe that the government does understand that the sector is key to any economic recovery.It is our feeling that after extensive lobbying the banks are reasonably happy with the outcome. It could have been much worse. There have been conciliatory noises from the British Bankers' Association stating that its members "fully understand they have a role to play in the UK's economic recovery". However, they also highlight that the "levy could undermine the competitiveness of the UK as a banking centre" and it is this aspect that does concern us. The levy is based on a proposal by the IMF, but unless it is adopted by the key international financial centres then it is possible that the UK financial centre could be disadvantaged over time.Ian Gordon, banking analyst, BNP ParibasWe wouldn't make too much of it, but the key takeaways (as before) are continuing relief for the UK domestic banks (especially Lloyds) when set against original expectations. This is especially true when taken in conjunction with a reduction in the UK rate of corporation tax from 28% to 24% and the absence of any raid on UK banks' deferred tax assets.The levy still appears unfair and disproportionate for Standard Chartered (recommendation: underperform) and HSBC (recommendation: neutral) given the potential for double-taxation (albeit this should be mitigated). The concession is to relieve uninsured (largely overseas) customer deposits at "half the rate".This should soften the blow and to provide context, Standard Chartered was previously anticipating a levy of £200m in 2012 (2.5% of pre-tax profit). But the fact that its non-UK balance sheet will (in most geographies) only be subject to any levy at all due to its continuing UK domicile must be a cause of understandable irritation.Sir George Mathewson, former chairman of Royal Bank of ScotlandThey are forgetting about one of the main things for the future, for the economy to recover we have to see growth in bank lending. Capital taken out of the banks means it is much more difficult for the banks to lend. I see this as a negative thing.Rod Roman, tax partner at Ernst & YoungThe chancellor proclaimed in the comprehensive spending review that the bank levy had been designed to keep the UK financial services industry competitive, but would enable the Treasury to extract a fair and substantial tax contribution. However, having read through the details of the draft legislation this balancing act is going to be difficult to achieve.It's clear that UK headquartered banks won't be able to escape the levy, wherever they choose to operate in the world. In contrast, our international competitors, particularly non-EU banks, will find themselves with an advantage in certain lines of banking business. Countries such as the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and Japan have indicated that they aren't going to make equivalent changes to the way they tax their banks. As margins reduce and the costs associated with banking continue to rise, these types of businesses will naturally gravitate to lower-cost models.So, while the chancellor aims to achieve a simultaneous reduction in bank risk and an increase in tax revenue, he may find, at least as far as the levy is concerned, he only gets one effect: a reduction in bank risk as certain types of banking business increasingly get done outside of London and outside of UK headquartered banks.Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, the UK's biggest unionThe pathetically low levy on banks – 0.4% – is just another slap in the face for working people. They suffer for the mess these banks made while those that caused it literally laugh all the way to the banks. And how will throwing millions onto the dole and a life on benefits close the deficit?Gavin Hayes, general secretary of pressure group CompassThe bank levy simply does not go far enough and will do absolutely nothing to change our boom and bust banking culture. David Cameron promised us "a day of reckoning for bankers" and his government let them off the hook. It was big banks that caused this crisis not big government and they should be made to pay their fair share.This is why the government should have imposed a bigger levy on the banks themselves and made the one-off windfall tax on excessive bankers' bonuses permanent. The government could have also committed to a financial transactions tax, these measures, combined, could have raised up to £30bn per annum and saved ordinary people from suffering from savage and unnecessary public spending cuts – and the resulting real risk of a double-dip recession. The government should have chosen to be on the side of the people – instead it is clear it is on the side of the bankers that caused this mess in the first place.Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' AssociationWe are well aware that we do need to pay our tax and pay our contribution to the UK economy. Care is needed to look at this legislation, look at its impact and how it fits. We have been looking at this for some time; the banking industry has been prepared for this.The BBA added in a statement:The banks are committed to playing their part in restoring the UK economy – and that includes helping to meet the greater demands on the exchequer. The banking industry paid more than £26bn in taxes last year and the bank levy will increase this figure. We will work with the Treasury to ensure the final levy also meets the aim of maintaining the UK's position as the world's financial centre while generating additional tax revenues.This bank levy applies not only to UK banks but also to the more than 200 overseas banks operating in this country. Changes to the detail have been made during the consultation period but inevitably the levy will have a significant impact.Questions are being raised about the UK proposing to apply tax to a global balance sheet. The Treasury's statement is largely silent on how this levy would interact with taxation in other countries. Until this is clearer, some banks could be taxed multiple times by multiple jurisdictions on the same activities. There is also no international consensus on how banking activities should be taxed: the G20 members still hold very different views.BankingSpending review 2010Tax and spendingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Sombre mood at UN climate talks This year's round of UN climate talks has opened, with little expectation of significant progress. bbc.co.uk |
Britain Keeps Silent on Afghan Impostor Claim Britain withheld a formal response to a reported Afghan accusation that the British introduced an impostor posing as a high Taliban leader to meet the Afghan president. nytimes.com |