The Chancellor, John Healey, is considering raising the bank surcharge from 3% to 8%, a change that would raise over £2bn a year, the Guardian has reported, according to Global Banking & Finance. This remains a report. The Treasury has not confirmed any change to bank taxes ahead of the Budget on 28 October.
The surcharge is levied on bank profits on top of standard corporation tax. Earlier reports said Healey was likely to raise it but gave no rate or expected yield. An 8% rate would reverse the cut made under Jeremy Hunt in 2023.
The over £2bn a year figure is not an OBR or Treasury costing and has not been independently checked.
Banks have warned that a rise would harm their competitiveness, Global Banking & Finance reports.
Shares in HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays are down between 3% and 5% in October so far, Reuters reported on 16 October.