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JP Morgan boss meets Burnham and Healey to warn against bank tax rise
Prime Minister Andy Burnham with Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey during a National Economic Council meeting at No 10 North, located in Heron House, central Manchester, Friday July 24, 2026

ANDY BURNHAM and John Healey must not listen to any biased banking boss pleas against windfall taxes on banks, unions have warned.

The Prime Minister and his Chancellor were understood to have met JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon on Wednesday, when he said higher levies would put jobs and investment at risk.

Ministers have been reportedly considering a windfall tax on banks and oil firms.

Levies were imposed on big banks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, leading to a 28 per cent corporation tax on lenders in Britain, higher than the standard 25 per cent.

Mr Dimon previously warned of “adverse consequences” if the government imposes such a windfall tax, after he and a group of other industry bosses successfully lobbied for previous chancellor Rachel Reeves not to include it in her Budget last year.

He has also gone back and forth on plans to build a £3 billion tower in Canary Wharf in London, expected to serve as JP Morgan headquarters in Britain and with 23,000 employees.

In May he threatened to scrap it if Sir Keir Starmer was replaced by a less bank-friendly prime minister.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has warned that Mr Dimon “doesn’t want banks like his to pay their fair share.”

He said: “The new Chancellor has a clear opportunity to show working people he’s on their side by asking banks to pay fair taxes to cut energy bills.”

The TUC urged ministers to raise the bank surcharge to pay for a social tariff, bringing down energy bills as much as £559 a year for low and middle-income workers.

Britain’s four largest lenders, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group, have generated a combined £200bn in pre-tax profits over the past five years.

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