Stand back from the budget and consider its impact on the asset management sector, then, if it were a football match between the Treasury and the Industry, I think the score would be about 1 - 1. Neither side would want a replay. And there would be some lingering dispute as to whether the Treasury’s goal should have been disallowed.

The political aspects of the 50% headline tax rate, removal of personal allowances and attack on pension contributions for high earners have all been recorded and analysed in detail elsewhere.

For some these moves will simply confirm the “thin end of the wedge” concerns which they had following the non-doms £30k annual levy debacle and the mess around the response to the 10% BATR CGT rate on carry. In conjunction with the Government’s so far less-than-robust response to EU regulatory initiatives targeting the sector, this has all added to the feeling that wealth creation and entrepreneurship, particularly in the City, are no longer supported to the same degree as before.

In light of this the question of whether London is still the best location from which to conduct asset management activity is now formally on the board room agenda. There have been statements of intent to leave the UK from some high profile asset managers. And for every one of these there are many more organisations asking themselves – or more precisely their head of finance and tax – the same question.

Migration issues