No US plans for one-off 2009 bank bonuses tax: Treasury

WASHINGTON: The United States has no plans to follow in the footsteps of Britain and France and impose a one-off 2009 tax on bankers' bonuses, the Treasury said on Friday.

Asked if the United States was planning to follow moves unveiled this week by Britain and France for "community" taxes on bankers bonuses, Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said in an email: "Not at this time."

Britain said it was slapping a one-off 50-percent tax rate on bonuses above 25,000 pounds (40,700 dollars) amid public fury after 70 percent government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland awarded some 1.5 billion pounds in bonuses for senior staff.

A French presidential source said a similar measure targeting bonuses paid to French traders would be introduced through an additional clause to existing legislation early in 2010. The details, however, remained sketchy.

Huge bankers' bonuses also triggered a public outcry in the United States when the financial turmoil swept Wall Street last year, helping to plunge the United States into recession.