Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester to trouser 963k bonus

[BigTom]

I think he'd have to pay income tax/national insurance at the point when he became eligible to sell them I believe. The shares were to be tied up for a couple of years - it was really a deferred bonus. So he'd pay 50% income tax + national insurance at that point depending on their value then - he'd also have to pay 28% capital gains tax when he sold them. Quite a hefty tax bill - I'd assume other banksters would use offshore accounts or pay some of their bonuses into trusts etc... but I guess with guys like this he'd be under too much scrutiny to get away with something like that at the moment.

This would not be applicable to the £1m bonus though, only on any rise in value of the shares between the point he actually receives them (when he'll pay income tax & NI) and the point he actually sells them. No income is getting taxed twice.

 

[gabi]

Tom, are u an accountant by any chance?

wish i'd asked on urbanz before turning down that bonus

 

[BigTom]

Tom, are u an accountant by any chance?

wish i'd asked on urbanz before turning down that bonus

No, but I've been self-employed for 11 years and done my own tax returns all that time, plus did the payroll for a (very) small company for 6 years

 

[Spymaster]

Tom, are u an accountant by any chance?

wish i'd asked on urbanz before turning down that bonus

Tom's posts on here have been spot on, but to be fair this is 'Noddy-does-tax' stuff, and an accountants knowledge is not required to grasp these absolute basics of income taxation.

Anyone who'd unquestioningly reject a bonus on the basis that you suggest is an idiot of enormous proportions. The notion that an increase in income could result in a smaller paycheck due to higher income tax is preposterous, and the kind of guff that the pub dullard spouts.

Moreover, I find it hard to believe that someone, somewhere along the line (line manager, accounts department, HR, etc) wouldn't have questioned this supposed rejection of money and set you right.

Nice try though.

 

[youngian]

I noted with interest that not a single minister was 'available for comment' on the radio this morning. Moreover that ugly, fat fuck, Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association was also noticeable by her absence. The cunt is usually purring away on "Today" whenever the banks/bankers are under attack. Fucking cowards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Knight

This former Tory MP has a new role now popping up defending profiteering energy oligarchs. She is becoming a real life version of Aaron Eckhart's Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking.