Higher taxes will ‘kick UK fintech when it is down’, Healey warned

Venture capital investors have warned that higher taxes on financial services would have trickle-down effects and clip the wings of Britain’s already capital-starved fintech sector. Start-up investors that fund the UK’s financial technology industry told City AM the sector’s struggles to access cash would be amplified by a tax hike on top banks and increases to capital gains. “There s going to be a bunch of indirect effects,” Sanchit Dhote, principal at Outward VC, which was an early stage investor in the likes of Primarybid and Firenze, said. “It’s discouraging from a morale perspective.” He added that banks could pull back from operations where they are an “obvious customer and partner for fintechs” and withdraw from their role as key venture debt providers, a specialised loan for high-growth start-ups.  One leading fintech VC executive said: “What investors want is certainty… if future projections are hindered by government intervention where tax rates will be chang