{
  "id": 14910624,
  "title": "UK bank shares fall on report of potential tax hike in Oct. 28 budget",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/uk-bank-shares-fall-on-report-of-potential-tax-hike-in-oct-28-budget",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-16T08:39:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/uk-bank-shares-fall-on-report-of-potential-tax-hike-in-oct-28-budget-4953365"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Friday, shares of British banks fell after it was reported that Finance Minister John Healey intends to raise taxes on banks in his October 28 budget. Lloyds and NatWest both experienced declines of 2.3% and 2.05% respectively. The Guardian revealed Healey aims to address the financial impact of the Middle East conflict and maintain deficit-reduction objectives as borrowing costs continue to rise. One potential solution involves reversing the bank surcharge cuts made by Jeremy Hunt, a move estimated to generate over £2 billion annually. Currently, the surcharge on bank profits, in addition to corporation tax, is set at 3%, but industry insiders anticipate a significant increase to 8%. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) estimates that such a hike would yield £2.25 billion yearly, but pushes for a higher rate of 16%, which could raise £24 billion over the next four years. Last week, Healey met with bank executives, including those from HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, and Lloyds Banking Group, who made £200 billion in pre-tax profits over the past five years as interest rates soared. Healey acknowledged the banks' critical role in economic growth, but assured them that tax increases were not ruled out. Consequently, the banks' lobby groups, UK Finance and TheCityUK, penned a letter to Healey, warning that higher taxes would compel them to relocate staff and operations abroad. JP Morgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, had previously stated in May that he might scrap plans for a £3 billion London headquarters if the government showed hostility towards banks. Specialist banks, such as Revolut and Shawbrook, are advocating for an increased profit threshold for the surcharge, from £100 million to £500 million. Rising borrowing costs in recent weeks have prompted analysts to suggest that the £24 billion safety net established by the previous Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, in March could be reduced by up to half. Healey emphasized his intention to provide consumers and businesses with some breathing room amid escalating energy prices in his inaugural budget.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}