Merrill Lynch losses open up 'tax break' opportunity

US banking giant Merrill Lynch might not pay any corporation tax in the UK for several decades after channelling US$29bn (€19.73) of losses through its London operation, a report said today.

The group, which employs 8,000 people in London, posted the losses from the cut-price sale of billions of dollars worth of risky mortgage-backed US assets to its London-based arm Merrill Lynch International, the Financial Times said.