Swiss investment and wealth management group Credit Suisse was accused on Monday of tax-avoidance after it announced unexpected one-off bonuses in the form of "discretionary leadership awards" for 400 of its UK managing directors in a staff briefing
The announcement, which comes a few months after the government's 50 per cent levy on bank bonuses expired, has drawn sharp response from critics within and outside the government, with many alleging that Credit Suisse had announced bonuses mid-year to avoid paying its share of taxes to the Treasury.
Credit Suisse had initially restricted bonuses in 2009 when the temporary UK bonus tax was announced where several other investment banks had chosen to transfer the charges to share-holders.
"We are recognising the commitment of our UK leadership team with a discretionary leadership award. The award is long-term in nature, deferred over three years, tied to ... performance of the bank and is subject to clawback provisions," the bank said in a statement.
Since the announcement, there has been speculation in the American media that other banks might follow suit, as plans of a similar tax for the US are in the pipeline.
