Credit Suisse prepares to sue HMRC over tax on bonuses

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Lawyers representing Credit Suisse are preparing for a battle to reclaim more than £200m from the taxman over bankers’ bonuses.

The bank was forced to pay a 50 per cent tax on bonuses above £25,000 in 2010.

However, it is now looking to claim back at least £239m, claiming the temporary tax unfairly affected its business, the Sunday Times reported.

The tax was charged on bonuses paid out between December 2009 and April 2010.

In court documents seen by the newspaper Credit Suisse claims that the tax was “unlawful” applied and against EU rules.

It is claiming back the tax money, and added damages.

The tax forced the bank to cut bonuses for its 400 London bankers by 30 per cent in 2010.

HMRC and Credit Suisse both declined to comment.

The tax was introduced after the financial crisis amid a public outcry over perceived excesses in the banking sector.

After leaving office, Darling admitted that the so-called supertax on bankers’ bonuses had failed.

“I think it will be a one-off thing because, frankly, the very people you are after here are very good at getting out of these things and . . . will find all sorts of imaginative ways of avoiding it in the future,” Darling said at a 2010 conference in remarks reported by the Financial Times.