Australia’s big banks will likely swallow a surprise new €4 billion federal tax, industry and political sources said yesterday, given a lack of public support for an oligopoly that has reaped years of record profits.

The tax on liabilities unveiled in Tuesday’s federal budget caught banks, which had previously enjoyed the support of the ruling centre-right government, unawares and was strongly criticised by bank executives.

The announcement was seen by political analysts as payback for the government’s efforts to block opposition calls for a wide-ranging inquiry into misconduct in the banking sector.

Treasurer Scott Morrison justified the tax as necessary to get the budget back into the black and also tapped into popular opinion, saying the charge was just a small portion of the banks’ profits.

He cautioned the so-called Big Five – Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking, Australia and New Zealand Banking, National Australia Bank Ltd and Macquarie Group Ltd – against passing the costs on to consumers.

The tax resembles a charge im-posed on big mining companies in 2010 that was ultimately re-designed after an industry advertising campaign which helped unseat the then Labour prime minister Kevin Rudd.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (right) and Treasurer Scott Morrison walking into the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, earlier this week. PHOTO: REUTERS