New tax threat to bond market

A tax reform in the UK Finance Bill threatens to harm the Eurobond market, lawyers are complaining. The Bill aims to close a loophole in the tax treatment of bonds redeemable at a premium over their issue price, but the lawyers worry that the reform extends beyond the loophole and will harm the tax treatment of standard bonds. The move comes while the UK government continues to campaign against the proposed EU withholding tax because of its claimed threat to the bond markets.