John Healey ‘poised’ to target banks with Budget tax raid

John Healey is set to raise taxes on banks when he delivers his first Budget at the end of the month, according to new reports. The Chancellor has faced fierce lobbying from the left of the Labour party and trade unions to slap higher taxes on the sector following the bumper profits reaped by industry this year. Healey is now understood to have decided to target the sector for a cash raid as he looks to balance the books on 28 October, The Guardian has reported. The simplest lever available to Healey would be an increase to the banking surcharge that sits on top of corporation tax. The surcharge currently sits at three per cent after being reduced from eight per cent under Jeremy Hunt s Chancellorship in 2023. A reversal of that move is understood to be under discussion, which would raise around £2bn a year. But some have urged the Chancellor to go even further with a windfall tax on the profits of lenders. Activists at Positive Money say such a move could raise £19bn