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TUC urges UK tax raid on banks after Barclays lifts bonus pool
Barclays said pre-tax profit rose to £3.3bn in the second quarter and set aside £1.3bn for bonuses in the first half, up from £1bn last year.
The Trades Union Congress urged UK political leaders to raise taxes on banks after Barclays reported higher profits and increased its half-year bonus pool.
According to the latest corporate filings cited by the Guardian Business, Barclays put £1.3bn into its bonus pool for the first half of the year, including annual and deferred bonuses, up from £1bn last year, with additional payouts building through the second half as final decisions are due by the end of February next year.
The same filings showed Barclays increased pre-tax profit in the second quarter to £3.3bn, up 31% year on year, bringing half-year profits to £6.1bn, up 17%. Barclays also announced a £1bn share buyback and £800m in dividends.
The union said the cost of living crisis requires more support from big lenders, arguing banks can afford additional tax, while Barclays executives stressed during a journalist call that UK banks are taxed more than peers abroad, citing UK Finance figures that put the effective rate at 46.4% in the UK versus 38.9% in Frankfurt and 27.9% in New York.