#withdrawal-tax

My 'broker' is asking for a 'withdrawal tax' to release my profits. Is this legit or a scam?

Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a panic here. I've been trading with a platform called OptionStarsGlobal for a few months now, after seeing an ad on social media. Everything seemed fine, even though it was a bit confusing at first. I put in about £4,000, and they showed me some 'profits' – supposed to be around £12,000 now. I tried to withdraw a bit last week, just £500, to see how it works, and they've completely stonewalled me. Now, my account manager is saying I need to pay a 'withdrawal tax' of 15% on my total profits before they can release any funds. He said it's a new government regulation and I have to pay it directly to them. This feels super dodgy. I've never heard of a broker handling tax payments like this, especially not for profits I haven't even received yet. Is this a common thing, or am I being scammed? I'm in London, UK, and I'm really worried about losing everything. Any advice would be appreciated.