The Newshound

Healey is set to hit banks and oil giants with windfall tax to plug £4.7bn hole WITHOUT raising taxes on workers

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 weighing windfall levies on banks and oil firms ahead of his 28 October Autumn Budget, with Treasury officials scrambling to close a £4.7bn shortfall in the public finances without increasing the tax burden on workers. BP's profits are expected to surge 78 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 should Trump's conflict with Iran send oil prices soaring, while Britain's four biggest lenders are projected to see profits climb an average of 21 per cent in the first half of the year. One government official privately described the banking sector's bumper profits as 'low-hanging fruit' that Burnham and Healey would struggle to overlook. Healey also faces pressure to restore a fiscal buffer that economists at the Resolution Foundation believe may have eroded to as low as £8bn.

JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon has taken the unusual step of warning Healey directly that a bank windfall tax could drive jobs out of Britain, drawing parallels with New York.

Lord Jim O'Neill, who rebuffed three separate offers of a role in Burnham's government, warned at the weekend that wealth and capital gains tax rises would be 'stupid' and expose a 'scared and lazy' government.

Citigroup boss Dame Jane Fraser has also written to warn against a banking levy, while Scottish first minister John Swinney has urged Burnham to scrap the existing oil company tax entirely.

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
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