What is the reason for the attack of the media and political officials in recent days against Rishi Sunak?
How did the wife of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer manage to avoid paying taxes?
What are the UK tax laws for non-residents?
What has been Rishi Sunak’s reaction to the allegations against his wife about the UK tax?
With the recent revelations against Rishi Sunak and his wife, what is likely his political future?
A review of the case of UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife says Akshata Murty pays £30,000 a year to the government to continue to enjoy the benefits of the non-domicile status in the UK. One of these benefits is the non-payment of taxes on foreign income.
A wealth of Rishi Sunak’s wife
The media account of the assets of the British Treasury Secretary, Akshata Murty, is that she is more affluent than Queen Elizabeth and owns almost as much property. Murty is one of the UK’s multimillionaire women, given her significant income from her family business in India. The value of the tax he did not pay during this period is about 20 million pounds.
Threatening Rishi Sunak’s political position
Senior Conservatives have ousted Rishi Sunak as potential prime minister and now believe Boris Johnson should oust him after anger over the US Green Card and his wife’s tax affairs. One former Tory minister told the Observer that the fear among Conservative MPs with small majorities was that the party was now in a “death spiral” with its two leading figures – the PM and Chancellor – both having lost respect among voters.
 Akshata Murty agrees to pay taxes
“The worry is that this is a symptom of a party in eventual decline, and we are in a death spiral,” the former minister said after Sunak’s multimillionaire wife, Akshata Murty, agreed to pay UK taxes on her global wealth. His global wealth has been avoided by the laws that apply to people who choose a non-domicile status in recent years.
Green card of the British Chancellor and his wife
On Friday, it was also revealed that Rishi Sunak and Murty both had US green cards, meaning they had registered as permanent residents of the US. A development that shocked many conservatives confirmed that Sunak had a green card for 19 months while in charge of British finance.
Sunak’s low chance of leading the Conservatives
A former Conservative cabinet minister said Sunak was damaged and would have no chance at running for the presidency in the coming months. He said the way his family was organized showed that his political judgment was flawed and that questions about whether his leadership chances could be restored. Recent controversy has led to how quickly a once-stellar profession can return to the point of recovery. “The timing is terrible. His problem is that taxes have gone up a lot in his period as Chancellor, which is not popular in the party or country. And we have a cost-of-living crisis. None of this looks good,” said another third senior figure in the party.
Increasing political and media pressures on Sunak
All opposition parties are now determined to keep up the pressure on Sunak in the coming weeks. The Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats have not only begun taxing Murty, an Indian citizen, abroad but also repaying what they have saved in recent years. Political and media pressure has forced Akshata Murty, the wife of the British Chancellor, to pay taxes in the UK.
Huge income of the wife of the British Chancellor
Murty owns an estimated £690m worth of shares in Infosys, the IT giant founded by her billionaire father. He earned 11.6 million pounds in stock last year alone but has not taxed any of the vast income since he registered as a “non-domicile” in the UK. Although it was not illegal, its media coverage has put British Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a difficult position, especially as the economic situation has become difficult for some ordinary people.
British law on the non-domicile status
The British Chancellor has a responsibility to safeguard the interests of the UK Government and people in matters such as tax collection, including addressing legal loopholes used to avoid tax evasion, including regulations relating to non-residents. If a person has financial, family or similar ties to another country and declares that he or she intends to return to the UK while living in the UK, he or she can be registered as a “non-domicile” status and not pay income tax outside the UK. Akshata Murty is an Indian citizen.
Akshata Murty’s tax evasion
Akshata Murty is estimated to have avoided paying up to £280m in taxes by registering as non-domicile status. Murty wants to remain non-domicile in order not to inherit taxes but has said she will tax her worldwide income in the UK. Tax regulations for non-domiciles have already been controversial. Several wealthy conservative politicians, such as the party’s former chairman, Lord Ashcroft, and the environment minister, Lord Goldsmith, have been criticized for using this legal ploy.
Sunak Rishi’s reaction to the accusations against his wife
Rishi Sunak has called the media attention to his wife unfair. He said in an interview that he could understand Will Smith at the Oscars. “At least I didn’t get up and slap anybody, which is good,” he joked. But Rishi Sunak’s wife’s decision to pay taxes in the UK may not be the end of political and media pressure on them. On Friday, it was revealed that the two had an American green card for the past year, a residence card whose condition is that one considers the US as one’s home. Sunak and his wife have retained their green cards for more than a year since taking office.
Rishi Sunak had been relatively popular until recently, and after after-party scandals at the prime minister’s office during the Covid-19 quarantine, he was thought to be Johnson’s most likely successor if Boris Johnson fell. Given what has happened, Rishi Sunak’s chance to lead the Conservatives is now gone, and he sees his political position in jeopardy. It is also possible that Boris Johnson will fire him due to recent margins and introduce another person as the British Treasury Secretary.
