Singer Billy Bragg to stop advantageous taxes over coffer bonuses

LONDON – British accompanist Billy Bragg has threatened to stop advantageous taxes, and alleged on others to chase suit, unless the government acts to absolute bonuses paid by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

The 52-year-old singer, able-bodied accepted for his left-wing angle and political activism, aims to tap accessible acrimony over "fat cat" bonuses at U.S. and British banks rescued with taxpayers' money during the banking crisis.

The huge bailouts accept larboard the British government captivation 84 percent of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and 43 percent of Lloyds Banking Group.

"I accept that the Treasury had little best but to use taxpayers' money to aegis accumulation and balance and restore aplomb in the banking system," Bragg wrote on his folio on the Facebook amusing networking site.

"What I don't accept is why, now that we taxpayers are the majority shareholders of these banks, we assume absolutely blank to barrier their boundless benefit culture?"

He quoted letters ciphering RBS will pay its advance bankers about 1.5 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in bonuses abutting month.

At the aforementioned time, he added, Britain's capital political parties are admonishing voters that civic debt will beggarly boxy cuts in accessible spending afterwards the abutting accepted election.

"I accept that the government accept their priorities wrong.

"I accept accounting to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister), Alistair Darling, to acquaint him that I am no best able to armamentarium the boundless bonuses of RBS advance bankers. Unless he acts to absolute them to 25,000 pounds, I shall be denial my tax acquittal on 31st January." In his Facebook attack blue-blooded "NoBonus4RBS" he arrive added British tax payers to do the aforementioned to apply burden on the government to barrier bonuses.

RBS has been affected to accede to carve payouts and duke the accompaniment a veto on its 2009 benefit pool, but the government has additionally said that activity too far to bind pay could cavity the bank's adeptness to compete.

When asked about Bragg's initiative, a Treasury agent said: "We can assure bodies there will not be a cogent bulk of taxpayers' banknote activity to bonuses at RBS."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, alteration by Paul Casciato)