Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan, met with UK Chancellor John Healey on Wednesday to discuss potential tax increases on financial institutions. According to sources, Dimon cautioned the chancellor that higher levies could jeopardize investment flows and job creation in Britain.
The meeting takes place as Healey prepares his inaugural budget scheduled for 28 October, with reports suggesting consideration of windfall taxes on banks and oil companies. UK banks currently face a corporation tax rate of 28%, higher than the standard 25%, alongside a separate surcharge on their UK balance sheets. Dimon has a documented history of opposing additional bank taxation and has previously warned that further tax increases could produce adverse consequences for the financial sector.
Dimon referenced employment impacts during a telephone conversation with Healey in August, citing job losses in New York’s financial sector that he attributed to that city’s tax environment. The JP Morgan executive was previously part of a group of banking leaders who successfully opposed higher taxes before the government’s last budget. Dimon has also indicated that such tax policies could affect his company’s expansion plans, noting in May that he might reconsider JP Morgan’s planned £3bn tower development in London’s Canary Wharf if the political environment became hostile to banks.
Support for a bank tax increase has come from labor unions and advocacy organizations, which argue additional revenue could address rising household costs. The UK’s four largest lenders generated £200bn in pre-tax profits over the preceding five years, largely benefiting from elevated interest rates. Industry data shows UK banks collectively paid approximately £43.3bn in tax during the financial year ending in March 2025.
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