Tax slams Macquarie

MACQUARIE Group said it will be hit hardest by the government’s new big bank levy, adding an estimated $66 million to its tax bill this year.

Macquarie chairman Peter Warne told shareholders at the annual meeting in Melbourne yesterday the new tax on the big four banks and Macquarie would push up the average tax rate on the company’s banking operations from 34 per cent to 41 per cent this year.

Mr Warne also said the impact on Macquarie was out of proportion to the other banks.

“The new tax will have a disproportionately higher impact on Macquarie Bank compared to the major Australian banks,” Mr Warne said.

Macquarie’s bank division accounts for only 2 per cent of retail market share in Australia, he said. Two thirds of the bank’s profits were earned overseas and were already taxed at a higher rate.