Miliband blasts Hester’s payout as opposition calls for bonus tax
LABOUR leader Ed Miliband said yesterday that Stephen Hester “shouldn’t get the scale of bonus that is being talked about”, following reports that the Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive is in line for a £2.5m bonus, despite the bank being majority-owned by the government.
Miliband’s comments came as the opposition party called on the coalition government to reintroduce last year’s tax on bank bonuses.
A bank levy on balance sheets, seen as one of the best ways to tax the sector over the long term, is expected to raise about £2.5bn annually when fully operational.
The one-off levy – separate from a yearly balance sheet tax being brought in – raised £3.5bn last year, according to government data.