#TaxTheBanks - taking the message to the Treasury

On Tuesday 29th October, we headed to the doorstep of the Treasury before the Chancellor’s first Autumn budget to call on Rachel Reeves to #TaxTheBanks. We brought props, placards, and the voices of over 6,000 petition signers to share our message: if Rachel Reeves wants to prove she’s not in the pocket of big banks, a windfall tax on their bumper profits would be a good place to start. 

Years of higher interest rates and decisions by the Bank of England have meant the banks have raked in huge profits for doing absolutely nothing, while our rent, mortgage, and debt payments have soared. The big four UK banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest) are on track to make pre-tax profits of £44.7 billion in 2024 - more than four times higher than in 2020. They could absolutely have afforded to shoulder more of the burden in the budget.

Our new calculations showed that a windfall tax on bank profits, in the form of increasing the bank surcharge from 3% to 35%, in line with the 35% Energy Profits Levy on oil and gas companies, could have brought in nearly £15 billion. This is more than two-thirds of the famed ‘fiscal blackhole’, and money that could have been used to help those struggling the most. 

Sadly, Reeves missed this huge opportunity in Wednesday’s budget. Even as our calculations of how much a windfall tax could generate drew coverage from the Mirror and the Metro, and recent polling showing increasing taxes on banks to be the third most supported tax increase amongst the public, banks' inflated profits have been left untouched.

It seems that Big Finance’s influence over our democracy has continued into this parliament, stopping Reeves from taxing the banks, at least for now.  Although, there were some more positive announcements on what the budget means for investment in the green transition - dive into more details in a blog from our Senior Policy & Advocacy Officer here.

This petition was just one battle in our fight to shift power from big corporations and banks to people. We’ll be holding the government’s feet to the fire every step of the way - whether that’s calling out their ties to Big Finance, calling for a truly public digital pound or pushing them to invest more in the green transition.

We’ll never stop fighting for policies that make sure the financial system serves society, not the other way around, and that support communities across the country with the services and investment they need.

Sign-up to our mailing list for regular updates, or donate to support our work to redesign our economic system for social justice and a liveable planet.