Michael Meacher
Main Page: Michael Meacher (Labour - Oldham West and Royton)Department Debates - View all Michael Meacher's debates with the HM Treasury
(13 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Osborne
The last Chancellor of the Exchequer has directly addressed the question of whether the bonus tax in the form in which he introduced it last year could be repeated this year. He thinks that it could not, because behaviour has changed. Indeed, we have seen base pay rise in response to the bonus tax. However, as I made clear in my statement, we are seeking a new settlement with the banks, and nothing is off the table if they cannot agree to that.
Mr Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab)
Why is the right hon. Gentleman not extending the existing tax on bankers’ bonuses, which has yielded £3.5 billion in the past year? Does that not prove that this is a Government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich, and does the right hon. Gentleman not realise that this rancid stink about bankers’ bonuses simply will not go away?
Mr Osborne
The right hon. Gentleman may not know it, or perhaps he did not really believe it, but he fought the last election on a manifesto—written, incidentally, by the Leader of the Opposition—that committed the then Government to opposing a unilateral levy. We have introduced such a levy, and it will raise almost £10 billion in the current Parliament. We are extracting from the banks revenue that the last Government did not extract. Indeed, they opposed the method that we have introduced.