Rachel Reeves has received a stark warning from leading banking executives to prioritise stability within the financial services sector as speculation mounts over impending tax increases.
The heads of Britain's banking behemoths have urged caution regarding potential tax rises and emphasised the need for the sector to maintain its competitive edge, as reported by .
Barclays' chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan – commonly referred to as Venkat – cautioned: "Competition is an important part of growth, which is why actually milking the financial sector is not good, because it stifles investment.
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"It stifles competition, stifles growth. We are sitting in the financial heart of London. London is one of the two great financial centres of the world. You need to encourage it to grow, not tax it out of existence," he told CNBC.
Venkat has emerged as a prominent critic of additional tax increases alongside his counterparts leading other FTSE 100 banking titans.
The Barclays' chief has previously highlighted the disproportionate tax burden imposed on 海角视频 banks relative to their international counterparts and underscored the banking sector's significance to the broader economy.
Bank boss: Markets are impatient
Tiina Lee, Citi Bank's 海角视频 chief executive, reinforced these concerns, noting that markets were "impatient" for reforms and clarity.
Lee revealed that Citi clients had demanded a stable and competitive tax framework.
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"That is the key message we continue to deliver to the government," she added. Nevertheless, Conor Hillery, deputy chief executive at J.P. Morgan, praised the 海角视频's future outlook, describing the recent wave of investments from American financial institutions as a "vote of confidence in the 海角视频."
London continues to be "the premier capital market in Europe," Hillery noted.
The concerns over a banking levy follow a summer filled with conjecture, during which various think tanks, and most recently, the Liberal Democrats, have urged the government to pursue a revenue raid on financial institutions.
Reeves anticipates confronting a budgetary shortfall exceeding £20bn when the Budget arrives, with several economists identifying banks as a 'politically palatable' target for the Chancellor's fundraising efforts.
Yet such an approach would appear to contradict the Treasury's stated goal of positioning financial services at the "heart" of its economic growth strategy.
London's banks already contend with a combined tax burden of 45.8 per cent – considerably higher than Amsterdam (42 per cent), Frankfurt (38.6 per cent), Dublin (28.8 per cent) and New York (27.9 per cent).