Chancellor John Healey is reportedly weighing up windfall taxes on banks and oil and gas companies as part of his first Budget, as he seeks ways to close a £4.7bn shortfall in the public finances without raising taxes on ordinary households. According to a Telegraph report, the move is being framed as a more restrained approach to tax rises than that pursued by his predecessor, Rachel Reeves, though it has already drawn criticism from industry figures who warn it could push jobs and investment elsewhere.

Options reportedly under consideration include raising the levy on oil and gas firms, extending it beyond its current 2030 end date, and introducing a time-limited tax on bank profits akin to the existing energy windfall tax. The plans follow warnings from JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon against taxing bank profits, and calls from Scottish First Minister John Swinney to scrap the oil and gas levy after BP announced it would sell its North Sea assets. The Budget is due on 28 October, and the Green Party has separately proposed its own 38% windfall tax on bank profits above £800m, which it says could raise £19bn.