Overview

Ever since the much-publicised announcement of the 50% tax on bankers' bonuses in the Pre-Budget Report on 9 December, it has been clear that the original measure was ill-targeted. Many parts of the financial services industry were concerned that they might fall within the scope of the new tax, even though they were not "banks" in any conventionally understood sense of the word. Following industry representation, HMRC issued a statement, indicating its current thinking on the scope of the tax.

Here, we take a closer look.