Bank Bonuses Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Bank Bonuses

Aidan Burley Excerpts
Tuesday 11th January 2011

(13 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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That was about the time when the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), the then Prime Minister, said:

“The day of big bonuses is over.”

That is the kind of rhetorical—[Interruption.] That is the situation that we have inherited—no proper code of practice, no permanent bank levy, no plan for improving the system of regulation. We are putting in place measures that we believe will materially improve lending in this economy and the regulation of our banking system. Every single one of them has, for opportunistic reasons, been opposed by the Labour party.

Aidan Burley Portrait Mr Aidan Burley (Cannock Chase) (Con)
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On BBC television yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition stated that Labour’s bankers tax brought in £3.5 billion whereas the Government’s levy would bring in only £1.3 billion. Will the Chancellor confirm that the right hon. Gentleman got his figures incorrect? Actually, Labour’s bankers tax brought in just £2.3 billion, whereas the Government’s levy will bring in more, at £2.5 billion.

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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My hon. Friend is right. When the bonus tax was introduced by the previous Chancellor, he explicitly said that there would be displacement activity and that the net receipts to the Treasury would be less. Those have been looked at by the Inland Revenue and verified by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. They are less than the £2.5 billion or thereabouts that our bank levy will raise on a regular year-on-year basis once it is fully up and running.