Free Shares For Tax Payers in RBS

Free Shares For Tax Payers in RBS.

A recommendation by think tank Policy Exchange says that when the UK government sells off its stakes in RBS and Lloyds they should be offered to the UK taxpayers as no-risk shares.

The think tank announced that they should be given out with no initial cost and the share would only have to be paid for once sold on. If the price then fell the government would get the shares back and bear the loss.

At the current time 81% of RBS and 39% of Lloyds are owned by the Treasury after they were bailed out during the financial crisis.

Our View

A totally ludicrous suggestion, we believe possibly designed to gain headlines.  Many people have not paid taxes so why should they benefit from a share distribution?

The best way to benefit the whole of society is for Government to retain profit of any shares sold back and the money used to reduce to tax bill of those that paid for the bank bailout in the first place.