Campaign group UK Uncut Legal Action has lost its High Court challenge to the legality of the "sweetheart" tax deal between HM Revenue and Customs and Goldman Sachs.
UK Uncut have lost their High Court challenge. Credit: @ukuncutlegal
A judge was told the 2010 deal, worth up to £20 million, was allowed to proceed to avoid "major embarrassment" to Chancellor George Osborne.
UK Uncut asked Mr Justice Nicol, sitting in London, to declare that HMRC's decision to let the deal go through was legally flawed and involved a breach of statutory duty.
The judge ruled the deal was "not a glorious episode in the history of the Revenue" but it was not unlawful.
Tax authority lawyers defended the settlement, saying it was among five big business deals declared "reasonable" by a 2012 report of the National Audit Office (NAO).
UK Uncut says it is wrong to allow rich companies to avoid paying millions in tax while the Government imposes tough austerity measures on the poor and ordinary taxpayers are pursued for every penny.
"Goldman Sachs has made the right decision, but the fact remains that from April thousands of bankers and millionaires will get a huge tax cut from David Cameron and George Osborne."
"The Government should drop their plan to give a £3 billion tax cut to the richest people in the country while slashing tax credits for millions of working people on modest incomes. And they should repeat Labour's bank bonus tax to fund a guaranteed job for young people out of work."
"Thanks to George Osborne's tax cut for millionaires, next year's bonus round looks set to be very lucrative for thousands of bankers."
Investment bank Goldman Sachs have decided not to defer bonuses until the next tax year, meaning those receiving bumper payouts will have to pay the 50p tax rate.
The bank had been planning to delay paying their staff bonus payouts until after April this year: which would have allowed them to benefit from the government's tax cut for those earning over £150,000, due to come in April.
Mervyn King slams greedy bankers over bonus tax plans
Sir Mervyn King said the move was "depressing" and "clumsy". Credit: David Jones/PA Wire
Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has hit out at greedy bankers amid reports that Goldman Sachs was set to delay staff bonus payments until after the 50p tax rate is reduced.
Income tax on people earning an annual salary of more than £150,000 is set to drop to 45p in April, allowing banks the opportunity to pay less tax by delaying payments.
Sir Mervyn criticised the practice while speaking to the Treasury select committee this morning, saying: "I find it a bit depressing that people who earn so much find it's even more exciting to adjust the timing of (their bonus payouts) to get the benefit of the lower tax rate."
Goldman Sachs' headquarters in New York City Credit: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The US financial firm Goldman Sachs has said it will appoint some employees to work from its offices in Greenwich, Connecticut and Princeton, New Jersey.
All other employees will work from home as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
Tax avoidance campaign can challenge 'deal' between HMRC and Goldman Sachs
Tax avoidance campaigners have won High Court permission to challenge an alleged "sweetheart" deal between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Goldman Sachs.
UK Uncut Legal Action were given leave by Mr Justice Simon, sitting in London, to seek a declaration that an agreement allowing the banking giant to skip a multimillion-pound interest bill on unpaid tax on bonuses was unlawful.
They want £20 million allegedly involved to be returned to the public purse.The judge ruled UK Uncut had "an arguable case" that should go to a full judicial review hearing.
Goldman Sachs 'only care what policy makers think'
Fellow of the financial markets group at the London School of Economics Tom Kirchmaier, says Goldman Sachs do not care what the public think; only what policy makers and governments think.
