Nice bonus, Darling

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

22:30 UPDATE: The Guardian is now reporting that the Tobin tax is also likely to be announced in tomorrow’s PBR.

Alistair Darling is likely to announce a special one off windfall tax on bankers’ bonuses in tomorrow’s PBR, to be levied at at least 50% on all executive bonuses paid by banks – whether they’ve been bailed out or not. The projected revenue from the levy is not yet clear, but it is likely to be in the billions.

In a bid to make banks more socially responsible, top investment banks will also be urged to help small businesses out of the recession through a new credit lending scheme.

Many bankers will be able to avoid the one-off levy through their status as non-domiciles, so there should also follow wider reform of tax havens to show these taxes are not predominantly headline grabbers.

Other measures we already know will be announced tomorrow include extra help to tackle youth unemployment and the return of VAT to its 17.5% level at the start of 2010.