, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said that “the big banks, since 2016, have had tax cuts worth about £4.3 billion a year”.The Liberal Democrats’ own calculation shows that the tax cuts Sir Ed was speaking about are worth around £3.8 billion a year at the moment. They will only reach £4.3 billion in the year ending March 2029.In the year ending March 2016, the Bank Levy tax collected £3.2 billion for the Government.
If the Bank Surcharge had kept up it would have collected £2.1 billion in the same year. Together that would be £6.3 billion. Instead the Levy collected £1.4 billion and the Surcharge collected £1.1 billion, for a combined £2.5 billion. That means that if both taxes had risen with inflation they would have collected £3.8 billion more in the year ending March 2025.
That would have risen to £3.9 billion, £4.0 billion, and £4.1 billion in the following three financial years.We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.