Banks Warn Chancellor on Tax as Greens Seek Windfall Levy
Britain’s biggest banks warned the new Chancellor, John Healey, against raising taxes on the industry as he prepares his first budget in October. At the same time, the Green Party called for a 38 per cent windfall tax on bank profits above £800m, which it said could raise £19bn a year to fund tax cuts for small firms. Banks say they already pay a surcharge and a levy on top of corporation tax.
The clash sets the battle lines for a budget in which Mr Healey must find money without choking growth, and the banks, profitable, politically unloved and sitting on fat margins from higher interest rates, are an obvious target. A windfall levy of the kind the Greens propose is popular and lucrative on paper, but lenders warn it would deter investment and could be passed on to customers through worse rates. The Chancellor has said little, wary of spooking the City while under pressure to fund public services and defence. How he balances the two will shape the autumn. Watch the budget date and whether a bank tax survives contact with the Treasury’s growth agenda.