The Newshound

Healey eyes windfall tax raid on banks and oil giants to plug £4.7bn hole ahead of October Budget

Healey, now Chancellor, told Bloomberg executives that businesses are "really squeezed" by tax, energy and labour costs and pledged to ease those pressures.
Healey, now Chancellor, told Bloomberg executives that businesses are "really squeezed" by tax, energy and labour costs and pledged to ease those pressures.

Chancellor John Healey is seriously considering new windfall taxes targeting both banks and oil producers as he puts together his Autumn Budget on 28 October, aiming to raise billions while avoiding direct costs to workers. BP's profits jumped 78 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 after Trump's confrontation with Iran drove oil prices sharply higher, and Britain's four biggest lenders recorded average profit growth of 21 per cent in the first half of the year. Treasury officials have privately called taxing those bumper earnings 'low-hanging fruit', and Prime Minister Andy Burnham is understood to be part of the deliberations.

Healey must find £4.7bn to cover inherited defence commitments and shore up a fiscal buffer that economists at the Resolution Foundation believe may have fallen to just £8bn.

Jamie Dimon, head of JP Morgan, took the unusual step of warning Healey directly against a bank windfall levy, arguing it could push jobs abroad, while Citigroup boss Dame Jane Fraser also pressed the Chancellor to drop the idea.

Lord Jim O'Neill, who turned down several job offers from Burnham, publicly condemned wealth and capital gains tax increases as 'stupid', arguing they would mark a 'scared and lazy' government unwilling to confront welfare reform.

MoreDaily MailHealey could hit oil firms and banks with 'windfall tax' in 'low key' Budget as he tries to avoid unpopular tax rises for workersGB NewsJohn Healey eyes windfall tax raid on banks and oil giants ahead of Autumn BudgetCity A.M.Treasury ‘tells Healey’ to consider tax on banks and oilBBC News'Healey eyes banks and oil tax' and 'X Factor comeback'LBCChancellor 'mulls windfall tax on banks and oil companies'The TelegraphHealey eyes windfall tax on banks and oil companiesThe IndependentHealey ‘considers windfall tax on banks and oil companies in first Budget’The IndependentAndy Burnham and John Healey must cheer on the wealth creatorsThe TelegraphWindfall taxes will shred investment and growth
Read today's full feed at The Newshound →