The mystery of the phantom Budget
Exit Taxes to stop the super-rich dining and dashing on us. An £8 billion pound tax on big banks. Another £2 billion of taxes on the gambling industry. All reportedly on the Chancellor’s desk— all missing from the Budget. Where did they go?
The Curious case of the Missing Bank Levy
One of the clearest absences from the Budget was the Bank Levy — a proposed tax on runaway bank profits, fuelled by the same inflation driving up essentials. Thousands of you helped put this policy on the agenda by emailing the Chancellor (via our friends at Positive Money).
Taxing Britain’s lenders could have raised £8 billion to restore public services hit by soaring costs, and redressed the lingering injustice of the 2008 bank bailout. Ordinary people never recovered from stagnant wages and austerity, while banks, now enjoying bonanza profits, have long moved on.
Across the movement we expected victory, as it was widely reported that the Chancellor would adopt the bank levy proposed by The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). That was until Rachel Reeves sat down Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon in a private meeting where he warned her against any hikes. (Denied) reports suggest he dramatically ripped up the meeting’s agenda to focus entirely on killing the levy.
Other CEOs issued threats in the press, warning they might shift operations to the EU. Reeves reportedly told IPPR to “think twice” about publishing more proposals after one levy report knocked billions off bank share prices.
The result? No levy. Instead £8 billion of unearned profits remain in the banks’ pockets, whilst our schools and hospitals crumble. And policy researchers may face further political dressing down if they suggest further taxes on the rich and powerful.
The Great Disappearing Exit Tax
According to press reports the Chancellor was also seriously considering a settling up tax (or exit tax)— basically a tax paid by the megarich if they choose to leave the UK. It would recoup some of Britain’s investment in people and companies that thrived thanks to our public services, legal system and infrastructure, and stop them dodging tax by moving to low‑tax jurisdictions once they’ve made their fortune.
But as with the dodgy “millionaire exodus” stories used to push the Chancellor away from non‑dom tax changes, newspapers were flooded with scaremongering. Billionaire‑owned press claimed it would make the UK unattractive to entrepreneurs — despite similar taxes existing in the US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Spain, Italy, Norway and Japan.
But the relentless spin – reframing the Exit Tax as too risky, too radical, too dangerous (and who knows maybe some more private meetings)— seemed enough to make the Chancellor back down and leave the super-rich’s getaway route open
The Astonishing Shrinking Gambling Tax
It was also widely reported that the Chancellor would introduce a gambling levy raising close to £3 billion — a long‑overdue measure on a £multi-billion industry that profits from addiction.
Expectations were high. Headlines suggested it was a done deal. Campaigners pointed to Gordon Brown’s original proposal, and the press briefed that the Chancellor was ready to act.
But by the time the gambling tax was announced on Budget day, the expected revenues had shrunk to just £1 billion. The bill had been watered down to only focus on a small portion of online gambling, the rate rises were lower, and bingo and horse racing were exempt.
What happened? Well it might have had something to do with Fred Done of Betfred (57th richest man in the UK) who threatened that any tax rises would be met with job losses. Or it might have something to do with the £1 million of gifts and donations the industry gave to the Prime Minister and three members of his cabinet. Or the £279,000 in earnings, donations, and hospitality that MPs opposing tougher gambling regulations have received from the industry in the last 5 years
Who wrote the Budget?
This is how lobbying works: fabricated scare stories, ministerial access, and pressure that reshapes policy before it ever reaches the public. And it’s clear it did work. This wasn’t a Budget for the people. It was a Budget for the super-rich, super-powerful, and super-well-connected, who are holding our country hostage.
Rachel Reeves has tried hard to convince the public that this Budget delivered the long‑overdue tax rise on the rich. Yet Spear’s magazine — a glossy newsletter “for ultra‑high‑net‑worths & their advisers” — was celebrating how little its readers would be asked to pay. In their own words: “there is little for ultra high net worth individuals to be overly concerned about.”