• A 50% tax on compensations exceeding EUR 27,000
France may impose a 50% levy for bonuses in excess of 27,000 Euros (USD39,800) earned by bankers in 2009, after Great Britain recently decided to introduce a 50% levy on bonuses which exceed GBP 25,000 (EUR 27,500).
French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is interested in "a long term consensus on regulating the banking system" and would like for the taxation of banker bonuses to become a European movement. The tax would be borne by the bank, and the decision could be made either through a budget revision, or through a new law regulating banking.
It bears mentioning that British Finance Minister, Alistair Darling, announced on Wednesday that he would introduce a 50% tax on bonuses of over 25,000 pounds (27,500 Euros), which is expected to bring 550 million pounds to the British budget. This temporary measure will apply until April 5th 2010 to all banks operating in Great Britain.