Insider support for Lib Dem bank profit tax |

Wednesday 18th November 2009 | 10:30

Insider support for Lib Dem bank profit tax

Vince Cable's proposal for a levy on bank profits has solid support within Westminster, but Conservatives believe it is a bad idea.

Yesterday Vince Cable advocated a 10% tax on bank profits, which he claimed would raise £2bn next year to help towards paying down the budget deficit. He has followed this up with an article in today's Times.

There is broad support for this idea within Westminster, PoliticsHome research can reveal.

When the Phi100 insider panel – comprising parliamentarians from across the political spectrum as well as media commentators and executives, party strategists and think tank directors – were asked to assess the plans, a fifty nine per cent majority thought they were a good idea.

Support was solid among left-leaning and non-aligned panellists, and – perhaps unsurprisingly – the proposal had the unanimous backing of Lib Dems on the panel.

However, over two thirds of right leaning panellists disapproved of the plans.

Eye-catching

A Lib Dem panellist described his colleague’s proposed tax as an ‘eye-catching and an effective policy marker’. In addition to this, he argued that the levy would make ‘a pain-free contribution to fixing the finances’.

A non-aligned panellist, however, worried that ‘banks would recoup money from customers with higher charges’.

A right-leaning panellist claimed: ‘It stops the banks healing themselves by retaining earnings on their balance sheet, and so would undermine the recovery’.

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