Goldman Sachs may shift London ops: report

The US financial services major Goldman Sachs is reviewing  whether to move some of the company's operations out of London, following the introduction of 50 per cent bonus tax in the UK, says a media report.

"Goldman Sachs is reviewing whether to move some of its operations out of London and overseas to lower tax jurisdictions after the government's introduction of a 50 per cent bonus tax," The Times reported today.

The daily noted that in its last full financial year, Goldman Sachs paid 1.1 billion pounds in UK corporation tax, while, its 5,000 London employees contribute millions of pounds more in income tax.

"It is thought that the operations are most likely to be shifted, in whole or in part, would be back office, foreign exchange trading teams and the proprietary trading arm, which contributes about 10 per cent of bank's profits," it noted.

The Times said that staff at Goldman Sachs and several other investment banks, including Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, HSBC and JP Morgan, have reportedly requested a move out of the UK because of the new tax.