Nicholas Ferguson, one of the top figures in the UK private equity industry, has broken the sector's taboo on talking about tax by criticising rates that leave buy-out executives "paying less tax than a cleaning lady".

Rules on capital gains in Britain allow executives at private equity firms and some hedge funds to enjoy lower tax rates than most other people, often of only 10 per cent. This anomaly has been attacked by a recent trades union campaign against buy-out firms.