Tax hit for City workers who moved abroad to work during the pandemic

City workers who jetted off to work abroad during the early stages of the pandemic are being called back over fears they could incur foreign taxes.

Bankers working for Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are among those who left the UK to visit their families or live in spacious holiday homes during the early months of the Covid-19 crisis.

But they have been warned that staying away for too long could mean they incur tax bills in their country of choice – prompting a stampede back.

The exodus of bankers choosing to work remotely from abroad came as most were sent home when the UK’s national lockdown was announced in March. 

At the height of the pandemic, hundreds normally based at Credit Suisse’s office in the City are understood to have been doing their jobs from another country.

That number has dwindled to single digits though, after the Swiss bank warned them of their potential liabilities. The bank refused to comment yesterday.

Most of Deutsche Bank’s UK staff have also reportedly returned after it warned they would have to cover any additional costs and deal with problems if borders were closed. 

Goldman Sachs said it had not given staff a deadline to come back but most had by the end of the summer.