In reply to Coel Hellier:
> (In reply to Bob Hughes)
>
> [...]
>
> Really? Can you give a cite?
>
This is the one - I have edited for convenience but hopefully fairly:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ce60a924-d880-11df-8e05-00144feabdc0.html
Banker exodus fails to hit City
By Megan Murphy, Investment Banking Correspondent
Published: October 15 2010 23:24 | Last updated: October 15 2010 23:24
Ever since last year’s one-off “supertax” on bankers’ bonuses was mooted, workers across the City have warned of an exodus from London as high earners relocated to financial centres with more favourable tax regimes.
Ten months on from the introduction of the controversial levy, however,
far fewer bankers and traders have left the UK than some tax advisers initially forecast.
From practical concerns over infrastructure and regulation to quality of life issues,
executives are proving “stickier” than many feared.
...
< In fairness, a bit of balance>
Almost 1,000 hedge-fund employees have moved to Switzerland over the past two years, ostensibly because of last April’s increase in the top rate of personal income tax to 50 per cent for those earning more than £150,000.
<but...>
Analysis of the impact of the 50 per cent tax rate on take-home pay reveals that the gap with other jurisdictions may not be wide enough to justify a move out of London, particularly for junior and middle-ranking bankers.
For example, a married banker with two children, one of them aged under six, with gross income of £250,000 and a mortgage of £750,000, would net £141,000 in the UK, after deductions for tax and social security, according to PwC’s calculations. In Geneva, that same employee would take home about £156,000, 11 per cent more.
The gap with other European financial centres and the US is significantly smaller. The same worker would net £150,000 in Paris, £149,000 in Frankfurt and £145,000 in New York.
...
<this is the one I was thinking of>
The experience of Tullett Prebon, the London-based broker, illustrates the practical challenges facing financial services companies.
Last year, Tullett became one of the first organisations publicly to offer to help relocate teams of staff looking to move out of the UK, largely to fend off poaching raids by non-UK firms.
While that offer remains open, this week it emerged that it has yet to be taken up by a single team.