David Cameron handed bankers £98m tax cut while George Osborne spent thousands fighting bank bonuses cap

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Privileged: Cameron and Osborne at launch of Margaret Thatcher biography
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David Cameron has given thousands of fat cat bankers a tax cut worth almost £100 million, shock figures seen by the Mirror reveal.

New stats published by the European Banking Authority show that some 2,714 UK-based bankers earn over €1million.

Thanks to the PM’s decision to cut the 50p rate of tax, which kicked in in April, this means they will bag a combined tax cut of £98.5 million this year.

This leaves each of these bankers with a Christmas bonus worth an eye-watering £36,303 - around 50% more than the average salary in Britain.

Overall, the top-earning bankers took home four times as much in bonuses as they did in basic pay - with AVERAGE earnings of €2million.

But it has also emerged that the Chancellor George Osborne has lavished thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money fighting a proposed Europe-wide bank bonus cap to limit the amount they earn.

The Treasury has confirmed it has spent £16,095 on legal fees to oppose plans to cap the level of bonuses at a banker’s annual salary.

Cathy Jamieson, Labour’s shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, yesterday lashed out at the Prime Minister for doing all he could to protect his wealthy friends while leaving millions in poverty.

She said: “While ordinary families are facing a cost-of-living crisis, Britain’s highest paid bankers have received a multi-million pound tax cut.

“Thanks to this government’s decision to cut the top rate of tax, 2,700 millionaire bankers have been given an income tax cut of almost £100 million this year.

“It’s an early Christmas present from David Cameron and George Osborne who have shown time and again that they only stand up for a privileged few.

“Labour would instead tax bank bonuses and use the money to provide a guaranteed job for all young people out of work for more than a year.

"This will help us create a stronger economy where living standards rise for the many, not just a few at the top.”



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Labour would have to be careful to make sure that the banks don't increase the basic pay of their staff to compensate for the shortfall in bonuses as that is what they have done in the past.

Par for the course.