UK Chancellor Healey has reportedly ruled out raising capital gains tax in the October 28th Budget amid concerns over growth and investment, The Times reports

• Chancellor reportedly plans to increase taxes on banks, introduce targeted cost-of-living support and reduce fiscal headroom from GBP 23bln to around GBP 15bln in the October 28th Budget.

Pre-Budget kite-flying of this kind is standard practice in UK fiscal cycles, with favoured outlets used to test and then settle the revenue mix before the statement itself; the pattern is that the broad shape leaks well in advance and only the detail surprises on the day. The CGT exclusion matters because pre-briefed speculation about aligning it with income tax had been a live overhang for domestic equities and private capital, and in comparable episodes the ruling out of a floated hike has relieved pressure on the most exposed names without repricing the wider gilt story. The more consequential fiscal element is the headroom reduction, which narrows the buffer against the OBR's rule and historically raises the sensitivity of the front of the gilt curve and the DMO remit to any slippage in the forecast round. A bank-specific levy is a recurring lever for chancellors needing revenue without touching headline household rates; past iterations have hit the domestic-focused lenders harder than the internationally diversified peer set. The tells ahead of the statement are whether the bank tax takes the form of a surcharge adjustment or a levy change, and how the OBR scores the headroom cut against market moves in the intervening weeks. As a sourced but unconfirmed report, positioning implications remain provisional until the Treasury confirms or denies.