By Ben Kerrigan-
Prime minister, Boris Johnson, has accepted Mr Sunak’s request for a review by Lord Geidt – and continues to have “full confidence” in the chancellor. yMr Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, last week announced she would start paying UK tax on her overseas earnings.
Mr Sunak wrote to the PM seeking an investigation just days after it was revealed that his wife Akshata Murty, who owns £700m in shares of the Indian IT giant Infosys, saved on taxes due to her “non-dom” status. The Treasury has said that Mr Sunak declared his wife’s tax status when he became a minister in 2018, and when he joined government.
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The self referral follows growing anger over Murthy’s tax status, intensified by her husband’s decision to increase payroll taxes at a time when high inflation leaves Britons facing the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in 1956. Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer , accused Mr Sunak was guilty of “breathtaking hypocrisy” for raising taxes while his wife benefits from non-dom status.
Murthy, an Indian citizen, is eligible for so-called “non-domiciled” status in Britain, a status open to foreign nationals who do not regard Britain as their permanent home. That in turn allowed her to opt to pay UK tax only on income she earned in or transferred to Britain.
Murthy is the daughter one of the founders of Indian IT giant Infosys and owns about 0.9 per cent of the company which earned her entitling her a dividend payment of approximately £11.6 m (US$15.1 million) last year.
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Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed pointed to a “whole list of areas where the chancellor appears to have failed to declare things he should have declared.”
Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer , accused Mr Sunak was guilty of “breathtaking hypocrisy” for raising taxes while his wife benefits from non-dom status.
Pressure began mounting on Mr.Sunak and the government, after it emerged that his Indian-born wife Akshata Murty, a multi-millionaire, held non-domicile tax status, enabling her to avoid paying UK taxes on overseas income.
Ms Murty subsequently issued a statement saying that she would now pay UK tax on all worldwide earnings.
However, Sunak, who remains a popular figure in government, insisted he has always stuck to the rules.
In a statement on Twitter, Mr Sunak said: “I have always followed the rules and I hope such a review will provide further clarity.”
Mr Sunak’s call to be referred to Lord Geidt after days of criticism over his wife’s tax status and his possession of a US residency green card despite being in the British government will lead to broad investigation over the matter.
His call for the peer to determine whether all his interests were “properly declared” is honourable, and cannot faulted.
Mr Sunak has said that he had “always followed the rules” and that he hoped the review would “provide further clarity”.
A spokeswoman for the prime minister said: “I can confirm that the prime minister has agreed to the request from the chancellor for Lord Geidt to undertake this work.
“The prime minister has full confidence in the chancellor.”
Mr Sunak, who is on a government salary of £151,649 earned a fortune after sharing close to £100m, after being part of a small team of hedge fund bosses , following an audacious stock market bet that lit the touchpaper on the 2008 financial crisis.
However, before joining politics, Mr Sunak was a partner at two highly-profitable hedge funds and is now thought to be one of the richest MPs.
According to The Times, he was a “multimillionaire in his mid-twenties”, but he has never commented publicly on how much he is worth.
He recently attracted criticism from Labour for donating more than £100,000 to his former school, to fund bursaries for children who could not afford to attend it.
He has recently attracted criticism from Labour for donating more than £100,000 to his former school, to fund bursaries for children who could not afford to attend it.
Attacks on Mr. Sunak’s integrity began after the Independent revealed that trusts in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, created to help manage the tax and business affairs of his wife Akshata Murty’s family interests reportedly indicated the Chancellor as a beneficiary in 2020, according to people familiar with Ms Murty’s financial affairs and evidence reviewed by this publication. Mr Sunak became chancellor in February that year, and had previously been chief secretary to the Treasury since 2019.
The Uk publication said the trusts reveals links to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses that had Mr Sunak listed as a beneficiary.
Apart from being one of the richest Mps in British politics, Sunak is also one of the most accomplished academically. He achieved a first class degree in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University- Britain’s top university, and one of the world’s best higher institutions. He later gained an Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at Stanford University in California, where he met his wife, Ms Murty.
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