Lawyers have slated government plans to introduce a tax on City law firms in a bid to raise tens of millions of pounds to fund criminal courts as a "a tax on success".

Firms are understood to have been invited to a meeting by the City of London Law Society to discuss the plans which could see a levy introduced on large commercial law firms. 

Legal Week understands senior partners from City law firms are set to meet next week and that officials and ministers from the government have also been invited to attend.

According to The Times today, justice secretary Michael Gove is considering taxing the UK's largest law firms as a way of offsetting revenue the exchequer will lose from a separate plan to abolish controversial charges for defendants in the criminal courts.

It reports that the charges on criminal defendants, introduced in April, are expected to raise up to £90m each year.

The paper reports that a 1% levy on leading firms' revenue is among the options under discussion. This could raise around £175m from the top 50 UK law firms alone.

President of the Law Society Jonathan Smithers has slammed the plans.

He warned such a tax could "prompt firms to consider whether to continue to operate out of England and Wales" which he argued would "have an impact on the wider UK economy".

He said: "This is simply a tax on success. Singling out the legal profession to pay a levy on top of the tax they pay as businesses could damage the legal sector's competitiveness and thereby its international standing as the jurisdiction of choice."

Smithers added: "Solicitors employ thousands of people and generate the greater part of the legal sector's net exports of £3.1bn every year. Solicitors provide significant voluntary contributions by providing free legal advice to those in need and other charitable activities which support the wider community."

Partners argued that it would be very difficult to draft such as levy on top law firms.

One senior partner said: "It would be difficult for the government to structure something that worked.

"Presumably it would be a levy on profits as declared, which would make it very difficult because we are basically self-employed."

Jonathan Blair, managing partner at Bond Dickinson, said he was keen to see the full details of the government's proposals but that it "seemed like a fairly blunt instrument to use to tackle an issue in a legal market that is still recovering".

He added: "A 1% tax is not an insignificant additional cost in a time when clients are rightly demanding more from their legal providers.

"Whilst it is clear a review of the way the justice system is funded is necessary, providing a further tax to firms who already pay business taxes and do a great deal of pro bono work within the communities doesn't seem to set the right precedent."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said the UK currently had a "two nation justice system".

He added: "Those who have benefited financially need to do more to protect access to justice for all and we are discussing with the profession how this can be taken forward."

The City of London Law Society declined to comment.