JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has warned Britain’s new government against increasing taxes on banks, adding pressure on Finance Minister John Healey ahead of an Autumn Budget that could include a windfall levy on banks and oil companies.
Dimon met Healey at Downing Street on Wednesday and was also reported to have held talks with newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham, as the government prepares to set out its fiscal plans on Oct. 28.
The meetings come as Burnham and Healey face a difficult balancing act. Britain is dealing with persistent inflation, elevated government borrowing costs and weak economic growth, while the new administration has also pledged to ease living costs, increase defense spending and transfer more political power to local authorities.
Those commitments leave the government searching for additional revenue and spending cuts while remaining within its fiscal rules. Banks, which have generated strong earnings in recent years, are increasingly being viewed by some unions and lawmakers as an attractive source of additional tax revenue.
For the banking industry, however, another tax increase could further raise the cost of operating in one of Europe’s most important financial centers.
British banks already face a substantially higher tax burden than most companies.
They pay the standard 25% corporation tax, alongside a 3% bank surcharge and a separate bank levy on balance sheets ranging from 0.05% to 0.1%. Banks also face broader business taxes, including National Insurance contributions on employee wages, sales taxes and business rates on commercial properties.
According to industry body UK Finance, the combined tax rate on banks’ U.K. operations was 46.4% in 2025.
The prospect of a further windfall tax has therefore triggered a coordinated response from the industry, which argues that policymakers risk prioritizing short-term revenue at the expense of longer-term investment and competitiveness.
David Postings, chief executive of UK Finance, wrote to Healey last month opposing a bank windfall tax. He warned that increasing taxes could “ultimately risk undermining the very tax base the government seeks to protect and grow” while damaging Britain’s international competitiveness.
Postings also highlighted the tax gap between London and competing financial centers including Frankfurt, Dublin and New York.
The argument has gained attention because financial services are one of the industries in which Britain retains a globally important competitive position. Higher…
Read More: JPMorgan’s Dimon Warns UK Against Bank Windfall Tax as Budget Tax Raid
