The UK's Inland Revenue has made what some view as an embarrassing climbdown on a tax change that could have forced leading private-equity players overseas.
The tax would have cost specialists such as Guy Hands and Ronald Cohen millions and could have driven them abroad. "If taxation were too high, it would stifle entrepreneurial activity and might result in private-equity houses moving abroad. You don't have to work in the UK," says Edmund Truell, chief executive of Duke Street Capital. "Wasting time on whizzo schemes, paying thousands to lawyers and accountants trying to minimize your tax - it is so unproductive."
Will Schmidt of Advent International adds: "This tax could have put the UK at a competitive disadvantage and had serious implications for the location of...
