BBA calls for Budget to restore confidence in UK

For Britain to remain the world’s leading financial centre, next week’s Budget should focus on rebuilding international confidence in the UK as a place that welcomes business, the British Bankers’ Association said today.

In its official submission to HM Treasury ahead of next week’s Budget, BBA Chief Executive Angela Knight voiced her members’ concerns that recent and proposed tax changes are causing international business to question the UK as the location of choice. She called on Alistair Darling to do more to attract business to Britain, especially as there is fierce competition from other centres. She pointed out that the consensus of more than a quarter century had kept the UK as a well-regulated location with a favourable tax regime for the financial services industry, but this was now being questioned. Failure to act now, she said, could damage the economy and particularly the global banking industry operating out of the UK.

Mrs Knight said: “Banking is already the largest single taxpayer and contributes more than £50 billion to the economy. The industry is seriously concerned that the Government is trying to raise new taxes without adequate consultation and without proper consideration of the cumulative effects.

“Taxation is not simple, and changes cause unintended consequences. Closer collaboration with the industry is essential to avoid giving our partners and competitors abroad the impression that the UK is not as friendly to business as it was just a few years ago.”