Chancellor John Healey is poised to hit banks with a £2bn tax raid in next week's Budget despite CBI warnings
Britain's debt interest bill hit £10.9bn in September alone — the highest for that month on record — as John Healey's fiscal headroom looks set to halve to around £12bn.John Healey, whose first Budget falls on 28 October, faces borrowing of £97.8bn in the first half of the year — £6bn above OBR forecasts — and is set to raise taxes on banks.
UK debt has topped £3 trillion for the first time, and inflation and September borrowing both came in worse than forecast. Healey delivers Andy Burnham's first Budget on Wednesday, October 28, and a mooted £2 billion hit on banks is widely expected. Lenders warn it could push up mortgage costs and cut savings rates. Labour's Left and the unions are pushing him to go after bank profits.
CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith said the City 'already faces a higher tax burden' than its rivals.
Ex-Bank of England economist Andy Haldane expects 'a Budget for the backbenchers rather than for business'.
The TUC's Geoff Tily told MPs it is 'fair to ask those with the broader shoulders'.
