‘Keep families out of it’: Johnson dodges question on Sunak wife tax affairs
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his wife, billionaire Akshata Murty, over her tax-reducing non-domiciled status after Labour demanded answers whether he himself benefitted from her status.
Mr Sunak said his wife had done nothing wrong in choosing a financial arrangement that means she is not legally obliged to pay tax in Britain on foreign income.
He has blamed Labour for the “awful” smears against his family, saying: “She hasn’t broken any rules”.
This comes after the party demanded the Chancellor to answer 12 central questions about whether he personally benefited from Ms Murty’s tax arrangement.
Ms Murty, daughter of the Indian businessman Narayana Murthy, is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that unnamed allies of the Chancellor claimed the Prime Minister’s office was behind the leaks – an allegation No 10 and No 11 strongly denied.
A No 10 spokeswoman told the PA news agency: “It is categorically untrue that No 10 is behind the briefings.”
“The Prime Minister and Chancellor are united.”
Who is Akshata Murthy?
Born to tech-giant Infosys founder Narayana Murty and author Sudha Murty, Akshata Murty has a 0.9 per cent stake in the company worth hundreds of millions of pounds, according to its latest annual report.
Together with her chancellor husband Rishi Sunak, Ms Murty owns the London-based Catamaran Ventures UK, The Guardian reports. Mr Sunak transferred his shares to his wife shortly before entering parliament as an MP in 2015.
Ms Murty, now 42, is also listed as a shareholder in at least six other companies, including Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria, Wendy’s restaurants in India and New & Lingwood, a men’s apparel store which measures Etonians for tailcoats and silk dressing gowns.
Stuti Mishra8 April 2022 06:00
Chancellor defends wife over non-dom status as allies blame No 10 for smears
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his wife, billionaire Akshata Murty, over her tax-reducing non-domiciled status after Labour demanded answers whether he himself benefitted from her status.
Mr Sunak said his wife had done nothing wrong in choosing a financial arrangement that means she is not legally obliged to pay tax in Britain on foreign income.
He has blamed Labour for the “awful” smears against his family, but the Telegraph reported that unnamed allies of the Chancellor claimed the Prime Minister’s office were behind the leaks – an allegation No 10 and No 11 strongly denied.
Stuti Mishra8 April 2022 05:50
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Stuti Mishra8 April 2022 05:08
