Burnham urged to increase tax on banks as Barclays’ profits soar
📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business
barclays reported a 31% rise in second-quarter pre-tax profits to £3.3bn, bringing half-year profits to £6.1bn, up 17%. the bank also increased its half-year bonus pool by 30% to £1.3bn. the strong results sparked calls from the trades union congress for andy burnham to raise taxes on uk banks. tuc general secretary paul nowak said banks like barclays are 'raking it in' while people struggle, and urged the new government to increase the bank surcharge.
barclays executives pushed back, noting uk banks face a 46.4% effective tax rate when including employment taxes and vat, compared with 38.9% in frankfurt and 27.9% in new york. cfo anna cross described the bonus increase as 'purely mechanistic,' tied to higher revenues. ceo cs venkatakrishnan, who met new chancellor john healey, stressed that every pound of retained capital supports £8–£10 in lending, implying higher taxes could constrain credit.
why it matters: strong barclays profits reignite debate over uk bank taxes, which could affect lending capacity and shareholder returns.
source: theguardian_business
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