UK Finance, the banking trade body, has been accused of selectively using data to argue against higher bank taxes in next week's budget, The Guardian reports.
An annual PwC report commissioned by the group puts London's total tax rate for a model bank at 46.2%, above Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dublin and New York. Paris, a major rival hub, is not included. The Guardian's own calculations, reviewed by an accountancy firm, suggest the same bank would face a rate of between 51.6% and 57.3% in Paris.
The TUC and the campaign group Positive Money said leaving Paris out was misleading. UK Finance said it had tried to include the city but could not produce a reliable like-for-like figure, and that the five cities had been kept the same for consistency. Barclays' boss has called a rise bearable.
Source: The Guardian
