Barclays and Lloyds shares surge on reports bank tax will be ‘lower than expected’

Shares in Britain s banking giants surged ahead of John Healey s maiden Budget after reports the Chancellor would raise taxes on the sector by a lower rate than originally expected. The UK s lenders have been bracing for a tax raid despite defensive lobbying from City chiefs. Healey is expected to increase the banking surcharge that sits on top of corporation tax from its current rate of three per cent. But the increase will be temporary and will not return to the previous eight per cent it stood at in 2023, Bloomberg reported. Lloyds shares surged 2.2 per cent on the news to 104.40p. Barclays was up two per cent to 430.50p and Natwest 1.7 per cent to 142.95p. Banks are expected to be a top tax target for Healey in his maiden Budget following relentless campaigning from the Labour left and trade unions. Industry bosses have warned any increase to the taxes paid by banks risk hampering global competitiveness and hurting investment. The surcharge raised some £1.2bn fo