Editorial
Rishi Sunak’s millionaire wife, Akshata Murthy, reportedly ‘avoids tax’ thanks to a loophole in the system.
According to The Independent, a source has alleged that the 42-year-old has claimed non-domicile status while her husband is chancellor meaning she has made huge savings on her tax bills.
Murthy, who is believed to have a family business that has an estimated worth of around £3.5billion, reportedly may have saved thousands of pounds in tax on foreign earnings due to this status.
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The publication also claims that two people who are familiar with Murthy’s financial arrangement have claimed that this arrangement continued even when her husband, Sunak, was put in charge of setting the UK’s taxes from February 2020.
After these claims were made public, a spokesperson for the millionaire reportedly explained that she has non-dom status due to having Indian citizenship.
The representative apparently stated: “Akshata Murty is a citizen of India, the country of her birth and parent’s home.
“India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously. So, according to British law, Ms Murty is treated as non-domiciled for UK tax purposes.
“She has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income.”
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Reportedly, the decision to pay less tax by using the non-dom status is optional. The system is lawful and will allow an individual to avoid paying UK tax on income from dividends.
Apparently, the status also means a person will be able to avoid the country’s inheritance tax.
Following the publication’s claims, many have expressed outrage. Labour’s shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, Tulip Siddiq, has demanded that Sunak ‘explain how much he and his family have saved on their own tax bill’ when millions are struggling across the UK.
She reportedly said: “The chancellor has imposed tax hike after tax hike on the British people. It is staggering that – at the same time – his family may have been benefitting from tax reduction schemes.
“This is yet another example of the Tories thinking it is one rule for them, another for everyone else.”
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