Treasury boosted by Labour's bank raid

By SIMON DUKE FOR MAILONLINE
Updated: 05:12 EST, 11 August 2010

The public finances may be shot but Labour's one-off raid on the City's vast pay pools has, at least, provided the Exchequer with an unexpectedly large windfall.

Payout: Top banks have given £3bn to the taxman

New research shows that the Square Mile's top 12 banks has handed the taxman some £3bn after former chancellor Alistair Darling slapped a 50% levy on bonuses of more than £25,000.

The bonanza was six times Darling's original £500m estimate, and ahead of the government's most recent £2.5bn forecast.

Unsurprisingly, lavish Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs topped the list with a £381m payment as it showered staff at its European headquarters in Fleet Street with cash following record results last year.

Taxpayer-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland made a surprise appearance at number four in the list after handing million-plus paydays to more than 100 of its investment bankers last year.

Bonus tax: Who paid what

Goldman Sachs - £381m
JP Morgan - £349m
Deutsche Bank - £335m
RBS - £277m
Barclays - £276m
Credit Suisse - £270m
Bank of America - £269m
Citigroup - £256m
HSBC - £233m
UBS - £146m
Standard Chartered - £50m

Total: £3,071bn