Thursday newspaper round-up: Mental health, UK tax rules, banks

About 300,000 people with a long-term mental health problem lose their jobs each year, a review commissioned by Theresa May has found. The Thriving at Work report, published on Thursday, puts the annual cost to the UK economy of poor mental health at up to £99bn, of which about £42bn is borne by employers. – Guardian

The EU is to launch an investigation into a British government scheme that may help multinational firms pay less tax, the Guardian has learned. Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition commissioner, will announce on Thursday that she is opening an in-depth investigation into a UK tax scheme that exempts multinationals from anti-tax avoidance measures. Officials think the special exemption for multinationals may break EU competition rules by allowing them to pay less tax than domestic-only rivals. - Guardian

Banks’ contribution to the UK’s public finances climbed 3.5pc to £35.4bn last year, underlining the importance of the sector and the risk of a "no-deal" Brexit to the British economy. Foreign banks contributed £17.3bn, almost half of the total figure, including a majority of payroll taxes in the sector, according to research by PwC. – Telegraph

Brexit uncertainty is hitting car sales in the UK and dragging down the industry’s performance across Europe, new data from analysts JATO show. Registrations of new cars in September in Europe totalled 1.46m, down 2.2pc on the same month a year ago, ending what JATO called an “unprecedented” strong run. – Telegraph

Housebuilders have significantly scaled back their plans to build homes in London, according to figures that show the sharpest drop in new home registrations for a third-quarter period in more than two decades. The National House Building Council, whose data covers 80 per cent of all new-builds in Britain, said that developers registered to build only 2,494 homes in London between July and September. – The Times

Glaxosmithkline has declared its interest in Pfizer’s $15 billion consumer healthcare business in what could be its first big acquisition under Emma Walmsley. The chief executive of Britain’s biggest pharmaceuticals company said yesterday that it was considering an approach for the American group’s business in a move that triggered concerns in the City about a possible dividend cut. – The Times