Published by Zeb BhamChancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling used the pre-Budget report to send a message to UK banks with the introduction of a 50 per cent tax on bonuses.Responding to growing public antipathy over the issue, Mr Darling asked banks to choose between punishing their staff or their shareholders and laid down the tax on all bonuses due to be paid before April 5th.It is expected the measure will raise more than £550 million and will affect around 20,000 workers.Speaking to Bloomberg, Jo Keddie, an employment lawyer at London-based Dawsons, described the measure as a "poison pill"."Either shareholders are going to take home less, or banks are going to have to punish their employees who have done very well," she explained.Other measures introduced by the chancellor to boost government coffers included 0.5 percentage point increase in national insurance contributions from 2011 onwards.However, Mr Darling also scrapped the planned 1p rise in corporation tax for small businesses.For more information on international payments, visit our Smart FX site