Skipton Building Society's blast for corporation tax surcharge

WHY is Skipton BS non-executive director Peter Thompson (who is 69) known to friends and colleagues as “Nimble”?

A last opportunity for members to ask him comes as the society’s annual meeting to be held at its HQ on The Bailey, Skipton, at 6.30pm on Monday April 25.

After seven years on the board, Mr Thompson is not standing for re-election.

Meanwhile, like other societies, the Skipton is aggrieved at the introduction, from this year, of an eight per cent corporation tax surcharge on banking companies and building societies.

“We are disappointed,” says the annual report. “If this surcharge had applied in 2015, the cost to us would have been £5.5-million which could have reduced our appetite to lend.

“The collateral damage of this tax-raising initiative, mainly aimed at banks, fails to recognise the distinctive legal form, business model and reduced risk of failure implicit in building societies.”