"News that the US plans a 10-year tax on banks, raising $120 billion a year, ought to ensure that new taxation for the City of London becomes a permanent feature of the landscape here.
The argument that such taxes make the City of London uncompetitive is now dead and buried. This year banks tried to absorb the tax on bonuses in the City but this will not be sustainable with a permanent tax. It is time for them to adjust to new realities of a fairer tax system in the City. That is, unless banks want to take their chances with the legal systems of Dubai or Shanghai. But I doubt they relish that much risk."
Professor Stefano Harney is Deputy Director of School of Business and Management at Queen Mary, University of London
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