JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) Chairman and CEO recently criticized a decision by the British government to impose a 50% tax on executive bonuses and called British Finance Minister Alistair Darling telling him that the bonus tax had punished the bank unfairly, according to a new report from Barrons.
Dimon told the British Finance Minister that the American bank is a major employer in Britain and it funded British banks during the financial crisis and did not take any bailout money from the British government. Dimon felt that the taxes were unfair to be imposed on a firm that did not rely on tax payer support from that country. Dimon also mentioned that the bank is planning on building a European headquarters in London as an example to the bank’s commitment and investment in Britain.
The British Government recently unveiled the controversial tax on bonuses over 25,000 pounds ($40,000) in December to clamp down on multi-million dollar payments across the industry. Some critics have said that the tax could lead to an exodus of bankers out of London and make the financial center uncompetitive.
