Government to increase bank levy to £2.5bn - papers

The government says it will increase the levy on bank profits to £2.5bn this year, to raise an extra £800m for the public purse.

The change, which would usually be set out in next month's Budget, has been announced now to help banks know the context they are working in before they announce their bonus payments in the next few weeks, Chancellor George Osborne said. This levy increase is being taken as an indication Osborne believes the banks are in better shape than he thought less than two months ago, when he announced a smaller levy would apply in the current year. Read more...