UK slaps huge tax on bank bonuses.

[edbermac]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/09/britain-unveils-whopping_n_383103.html

British bankers are going bonkers today after the UK government announced that it wouldn't stand idly by as they showered themselves with obscene bonuses made possible by last year's massive infusion of government money.

Alistair Darling, the U.K.'s Chancellor of the Exchequer -- sort of like a Treasury Secretary, but with more pluck -- announced today that he will impose an immediate, one-time 50-percent tax on bonuses of more than 25,000 pounds (about $40,800). That's on top of regular income taxes.

The New York Times calls it "the most direct attack on bonuses anywhere in the world."

Across the pond, however -- where the Wall Street titans whose companies were saved from dissolution by an infusion of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are about to reward themselves with a good chunk of that money in the form of year-end bonuses -- no such action is in the offing.

[Dr. Strange]

1. Barney Frank talked about doing this.

I know I'd love to see it.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. The US should have done the same months ago

[TCJ70]

3. So, when are we (read:The Government)...

...going to hold our executives accountable? Probably never...considering those same executives own our government.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. Be still my beating heart, Alistair Darling has done something with which I agree.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with this type of taxation.

[malaise]

5. That simple

Bravo.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Hey, Democratic office-holders: Are you paying attention?

This is what we should be doing.

[AllentownJake]

7. Look what you can do with a shortened election cycle and publicly finance campaigns nt.

[napi21]

8. I hope our Dems take this as an incentive to do the same! n/t