WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON IMPOSING A WINDFALL TAX ON BANKS?
JOHN WHITING CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF TAXATION
I’m not in favour of windfall taxes, not least due to the uncertainty they create, especially if applied retrospectively. Also, the government must define its target. Who will actually be taxed? Is it just UK banks and not overseas banks? Does it put UK banks at a competitive disadvantage? They need to try and find a better solution.
JUSTIN URQUHART-STEWART SEVEN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
A windfall tax would be enforced by the pre-budget report setting out an anticipated level of profit the government expects from the banks, and any which exceed it have to pay something back. But this is incredibly complex to implement and will mean that investment banks will just transfer their profit booking elsewhere.
DAVID KUO MOTLEY FOOL
The idea of a windfall tax is totally unworkable and amounts to treating the symptom but not the cause of the problems in the banking industry. Banks are now being used as a political football, but taxing them retrospectively will push them to relocate in other countries and certainly won’t solve any problems.