“Bank payroll tax revisited: too unsubtle to deliver cultural change?” Tax Journal

Daniel Lewin, Partner in the Tax Department, authored a Comment in the October 4, 2010 issue of Tax Journal, one of the U.K.’s leading tax publications. In his Comment, “Bank payroll tax revisited: too unsubtle to deliver cultural change?” Mr. Lewin discusses the impact of last year’s controversial Bank Payroll Tax, a 50% levy on all bonuses paid to banking employees in excess of £25,000, and the extent to which it might be judged successful. Mr. Lewin argues that BPT exceeded expectations in terms of raising revenue, but that the U.K. government’s intention behind the tax was to reduce the amount of bonuses paid to bank employees, not to raise money, and that in this respect, BPT was a failure. He further commented on the possible implications that a renewed tax on bonuses may have in the future, given the U.K. government’s recent announcements that further measures may be introduced for this year.