Finance chiefs lobby Healey to protect City from fresh tax grab
City chiefs have warned against a tax grab on financial services and called on ministers to simplify Britain’s “byzantine” tax system, as fears mount that the Chancellor will use his maiden budget next month to launch another raid on the private sector. The Square Mile’s top industry body, TheCityUK, which counts the UK’s biggest banks [...]
City industry leaders have urged Chancellor to protect Britain's financial sector from potential tax increases, as concerns grow about the upcoming budget. TheSquare Mile’s leading trade body, TheCityUK, addressed the Chancellor, advocating for the simplification of the country's complex tax system. Miles Celic, the group's CEO, emphasized that finance firms are already significant contributors to tax revenue and provide more corporation tax than any other sector.
TheSquare Mile highlighted that Britain is currently burdened with the most complicated and Byzantine tax system in the OECD, which hinders competitiveness. They called for the removal of stamp duty on shares, a 0.5% levy on share transactions that makes the UK an international outlier. Research by Dan Neidle’s Tax Policy Associates suggests that scrapping the stamp duty charge would have the most significant growth effect compared to other potential tax cuts.
However, economists warn that Chancellor Healey and his deputy Andy Burnham face a challenging budget decision with limited room for maneuvering due to concerns over the Iran war and potential shocks to the UK economy. TheCityUK also urged the government to maintain unchanged the Bank of England's multi-billion pound interest payments on cash reserves lent to commercial lenders, a decision that central bankers argue could undermine monetary policy controls.
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
