High taxes are hitting competition, say midsized UK banks Mid-sized UK lenders have told City minister Andrew Griffith that the bank levy, an additional 8% on top of the corporation tax rate, was dissuading them from growing and preventing them from lending more. Corporation tax is due to rise to 25% next year bringing the total tax burden on banks to 33%. UK banking shares struggled on Thursday amid fears they could be hit by a new windfall tax on top of the banking levy. Mid-sized banks have also written to the Treasury to complain that rules that set out the amount of equity and debt a lender must hold to absorb losses if it fails (MREL regulations) disproportionately affect smaller banks and could prevent them from lending up to £62bn over the next five years. Meanwhile, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase is set to call Chancellor Jeremy Hunt next week to express his concerns over rising taxes on banks in the UK, according to Bloomberg.