LONDON (AP) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. took a big hit yesterday from a one-time British tax on bonuses.

Reporting second quarter earnings, the investment bank disclosed a provision of $600 million to pay the UK bonus tax.

That leapfrogged Goldman past JP Morgan, which reported last week that it would pay $550 million to the British Treasury as its share of the one-time tax.

Britain's Treasury says it expected to collect £2.5 billion ($3.8 billion) from a one-year tax of 50 percent on bank bonuses in excess of £25,000 ($38,000) granted under arrangements made between December 9, 2009 and April 5.

The Treasury has yet to release a final figure because tax payments are not due until August 31.

Among Britain's big bank, Barclays has reported it will pay £225 million ($342,000), Royal Bank of Scotland will pay £208 million ($316.5 million) and HSBC estimates its contribution will be $355 million.

George Osborne, who heads the Treasury in Prime Minister David Cameron's government that took office after elections in May, announced last month that the government intends to levy a tax on bank balance sheets next year.

That tax is expected to raise about £2 billion a year, but the blow was softened by the government's plans to reduce the rate of corporation tax from 28 percent to 24 percent over four years.

"London is a very important place to do business," David Viniar, Goldman Sachs' chief financial officer said during a conference call with the media. "I would expect we'll continue to do business there."

Still, Viniar did say the bank regularly looks at tax and regulatory implications when deciding where to operate its offices.

Viniar also said the bank regularly discusses rules and taxes that could affects its business with regulators and taxing authorities in all the locations where it has offices.