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Thu, 15 Oct 2026

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 Banks say Healey is planning Budget tax raid on their profits

Senior banking executives have told the BBC they expect to be "on the menu" in the chancellor's Budget tax later this month.

* Senior banking executives expect a tax raid on their profits as part of the upcoming Budget.
* Chancellor John Healey has refused to rule out additional taxes, describing banks as "the crown jewels" of the UK economy.
* The sector contributed nearly £40bn to the Treasury last year and could face further increases in bank taxes, which would weaken competitiveness and discourage investment.
* Options for extracting more money from the sector include: + Returning the 3% surcharge on corporation tax to its previous level of 8%, which could raise around £2bn a year. + Increasing the bank levy on outstanding short-term loans and longer-dated loans, although mortgages are excluded from the calculation. + Ending the practice of allowing banks to use losses from the past to offset against profits, which would yield an estimated extra £1bn per year for the Treasury.
* Bank executives have warned that any form of tax rise that hits UK banks and exempts foreign banks' operations in the UK would be hard to square with the government's push to back British business.