Bank lobby's tax ranking under fire for omitting Paris and skewing London data

UK Finance, the lobby group for banks such as Lloyds, JP Morgan and Revolut, published a PwC-produced report that ranks London as the most tax-intensive city for banks, with a 46.2% total tax rate. The study compares London with Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dublin and New York but omits Paris, despite its large banking presence. Independent analysis, vetted by an accounting firm, estimates Paris’s rate between 51.6% and 57.3%, considerably higher than London’s. Trade union leader Paul Nowak and policy director Simon Youel of Positive Money criticised the report as selective and urged Chancellor John Healey to see through the lobbying.

They argue that raising the bank surcharge could generate £2.25 billion annually. While Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan said a tax rise would be “bearable,” JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon warned that further levies might jeopardise investment and jobs. The Treasury declined to comment on the controversy.