‘This news will be a slap in the face for families struggling to cope with Rishi Sunak’s crippling tax hike’
Opposition Labour and Liberal Democrats turn heat on Chancellor Rishi Sunak as media reveal that his is avoiding British tax through the infamous non-dom route.
Responding to the news that the chancellor wife claims non-domicile tax status, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine said Sunak must come clean on family tax affairs.
“This news will be a slap in the face for families struggling to cope with Rishi Sunak’s crippling tax hike,” she said in a statement.
“Sunak now needs to come clean about which country his family pays tax in abroad and if it is a tax haven. He is clobbering people with an unfair tax rise at the worst possible time, it won’t wash for him to try and brush this issue under the carpet.”
Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to put up benefits in line with inflation, most Brits continue to see their taxes rise despite his supposed “cuts.” But his billionaire wife will save millions in tax by claiming “non-dom” status. #DoubleStandards
Labour’s Diane Abbot said: Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to put up benefits in line with inflation, most Brits continue to see their taxes rise despite his supposed “cuts.” But his billionaire wife will save millions in tax by claiming “non-dom” status. #DoubleStandards she tweeted.
“The Chancellor has big questions to answer,” said Tulip Siddiq MP. “He must urgently explain how much he has benefited at the same time he was putting taxes up for millions of working families and choosing to leave them £2620 a year worse off.”
“The Chancellor has big questions to answer. He must urgently explain how much he has benefited at the same time he was putting taxes up for millions of working families and choosing to leave them £2620 a year worse off.”
“It is definitely legal, but is it right?,” asked Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for climate change. “It’s “very surprising” that Rishi Sunak’s immediate family is “sheltering a large part of their income” from UK tax.”
The issue also rekindled the Jimmy Carr tax avoidance case. The prime minister David Cameron said that it is morally wrong.sss
The chancellor’s wife Akshata Murthy is the daughter of Narayana Murthy, the billionaire co-founder of IT services company Infosys, and she owns around 0.93% of the company. The tax status means she would not pay taxes in Britain on dividends from the Indian business.
The news, which featured prominently in Britain’s newspapers on Thursday, comes as the government is putting up taxes in for millions of people.
Murthy’s spokeswoman said as a citizen of India, Murthy was treated under British law as non-domiciled for UK tax purposes because India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously.
Sunak, who became finance minister in February 2020 just as the country entered the COVID-19 pandemic, is now facing some of the toughest economic conditions in decades, with inflation soaring and living standards set to drop to levels last seen in the 1950s.
To help fund the rebuilding of the country’s national health service and its public finances, he has increased the tax take to the highest level since the 1940s.
“Akshata Murty is a citizen of India, the country of her birth and parent’s home,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously.
“She has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income.”
A person familiar with the situation said Sunak had declared his wife’s status to the government when he became a minister and the Treasury department was also informed. The person who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter added that Murthy pays foreign taxes on her foreign income.
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