Responding to the Budget, Miles Celic, Chief Executive Officer, TheCityUKMaking it easier to attract highly-skilled talent from overseas, supporting inward investment, reducing the bank surcharge, and bolstering regional investment to improve connectivity between our towns and cities are all powerful signals that the Chancellor is serious about the UK succeeding in a fiercely competitive global economy. While these actions will help shore up the UK’s status as a world-leading international financial centre, we still need to make up ground on New York, and other centres who continue to gain market share from the UK. Even with the cut to the surcharge, the effective tax rate on UK banks will remain significantly above rates in rival financial centres. Financial and related professional services are a strategic national asset. The industry employs over 2.3 million people across the country and is the nation’s biggest net exporter. Boosting its global competitiveness will be vital to the UK’s future success and to delivering on the government’s wider economic agenda.
