THE International Monetary Fund is considering plans for an “excess profits tax” on banks worldwide to raise cash in the wake of the financial crisis, it is claimed.
The IMF is expected to recommend the tax to sit alongside a global levy on bank balance sheets as the grip tightens on the sector following the mammoth bail-outs seen during the meltdown.
Newspaper reports said an excess profits tax would effectively act as a charge on bank cashflow – thought to be a way to raise significant amounts from banks without distorting the financial system.
It is thought the IMF will put forward its tax plans in a report to be published at its spring meetings later this month.
Chancellor Alistair Darling has confirmed his support for a tax on banks in recent weeks, but has stressed the need for an international solution.
The IMF was commissioned by the G20 leading economies last year to look at the potential for global taxes on banks in an effort to prevent future taxpayer-backed rescues.
Initial plans focused on a so-called Tobin Tax levy on financial transactions, which Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also supported.
