Anti-poverty campaigners renewed their call for new taxes on the financial sector after JP Morgan Chase set aside almost $10bn to cover basic pay and bonuses for its investment banking division. The Robin Hood Tax campaign said it was "outrageous" that JP Morgan Chase's investment bankers are to receive an average payout of $369,651 (£233,000) for 2010. The group, which supports a global tax on banks' financial transactions, said the size of the payments were "a slap in the face to ordinary people".
"If banks can afford to pay billions in bonuses, they can clearly afford to be taxed a great deal more. A £20bn Robin Hood tax in the UK would help avoid the worst of the cuts and show we are all in this together," said David Hillman, spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign. "While bankers wallow in cash, the general public are suffering unemployment and cuts to public services," Hillman added.
The figures were released after JP Morgan Chase kicked off the US banking reporting season by reporting a 47% jump in profits for the last quarter of 2010. America's second largest bank beat Wall Street forecasts, thanks to an improved performance from its retail banking and credit card operations.
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