UK banks pay more tax on higher balance sheet levy, corp tax changes

London

BANKS in the UK paid £34.2 billion (S$58.9 billion) in tax in the latest fiscal year - 9 per cent more than a year earlier - reflecting an increase in the levy on balance sheets and changes to corporation tax, a report from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) shows.

Receipts were evenly split between domestic and international lenders, with the former paying £17.4 billion and the latter £16.8 billion in the year through March 31, according to the report, which was produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and based on data from 36 firms. The bank levy raised £3.4 billion, an increase of 54 per cent from 2014, after the rate was hiked by the previous government.