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They're not changing the rules of the game on Jane Public's family here. They're sur-taxing banks' already exorbitant profits. Oh no, the bankers bonuses will be 20% instead of 30%!

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Profits are net of expenses. This is, if anything, an incentive to pay higher bonuses to bankers. So it's more like the bankers will make 500% bonuses instead of 200% and local pension funds will take the penalty.

In the U.S. bonuses are taxable income and the marginal rate of taxation for the bonuses comes at the high end of an employee’s tax bracket. In the U.S. corporate tax rates are lower than the income tax rate for high individual earners. Therefore, from a tax collection perspective, it’s good that the excess profit go toward bonuses.

Pensions don’t take a penalty. A penalty implies something being taken away from them or a charge to them. Nothing is being taken away from the pension.

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