Goldman Sachs is said to be considering moving its back-office functions out of the UK in a bid to avoid the new bonus tax.
In the Pre-Budget Report in December, chancellor Alistair Darling announced a one-off 50% bonus tax on bankers’ bonuses worth more than £25,000.
The investment bank, which employs 5,000 people in London, is now thought to have asked an internal team to review various strategies to avoid the tax, which could include moving whole departments overseas to lower tax jurisdictions, the Daily Telegraph has reported.
The operations thought to be covered by the review include back-office functions, foreign exchange trading teams and the proprietary trading arm.
Last year, Goldman Sachs paid £1.1bn in UK corporation tax – the biggest contribution from the UK financial sector.
Meanwhile, brokerage firm Tullett Prebon has already offered its staff the chance to relocate overseas to reduce their tax burdens.
