Darling admits bank bonus tax ‘failed’

Former chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted that the tax on bankers’ bonuses he introduced failed as City financiers devised “imaginative” ways to work around the rules.

Speaking at a financial services conference, Darling said the tax was unlikely to be reinstated by the current government as “the very people you are after here are very good at getting out of these sorts fo things” reports the Financial Times.

The 50% tax on bonuses over £25,000 had also failed to change the behavior of the industry over pay, he admitted.