Former M&S chairman slams private equity tax rules
Former Marks & Spencer chairman Paul Myners joins critics of buy-out company tax rules
Paul Myners, the former chairman of
Marks
& Spencer , has issued a stinging criticism of the tax rules
that apply to private equity companies.
Myners, now the chairman of the Low Pay Commission, said he could not
understand how private equity executives could earn huge payouts and only be
taxed at 10%, the FT
reports.
‘It is reasonable to ask (whether this is) fair reward for the contribution
that private equity makes and the value it delivers, and whether the favoured
tax treatment is justified,’ Myners was quoted as saying.
Peter Linthwaite, chief executive of the
British Venture Capital Association , however, said private
equity ‘pays and plays by the same rules as everyone else’.
‘Carried interest is deemed to be an investment in unlisted securities. The
same rules apply to anyone investing in unlisted securities,’ said Linthwaite.
Further reading:
ICAEW head of corporate finance defends private equity
Private equity bosses face Treasury grilling
CBI warns against private equity clampdown