THE British Treasury Secretary Richie Sunak He countered today the accusations of non-taxation of his rich wife, claiming that it is a “mud” campaign aimed at him.
The decline was sharp for the ambitious former banker, the rising star of the Conservatives, who for some time appeared as the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister. In the midst of the financial crisis, with prices soaring, households losing their purchasing power and a few days after he announced a tax increase, he receives harsh criticism after it was revealed that his wife is saving millions in taxes.
While the opposition was already commenting on Sunak’s luxurious lifestyleThe Independent newspaper revealed this week the privileged tax regime enjoyed by his wife, Axata Murti, daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murti, co-founder of technology company Infosys.
“Spanking my wife to hurt me is disgusting” said Sunak in an interview published today on the tabloid The Sun. He even added that his wife “Pays taxes in Britain for every penny he earns” in that country and spoke of a “smear campaign” from the opposition.
Sunak speaks to The Sun about his wife’s non-dom status https://t.co/BPV1C1tFtR
– Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) April 7, 2022
However, Boris Johnson, when asked by reporters today, said that Sunak was doing an “excellent job” and reiterated that “he does not believe that people’s families should be dragged into these things.”
The controversy over Murty’s tax regime comes at a time when the British are facing the worst blow to their way of life since the 1950s, at least after tax increases, to support the recovery following the Covid pandemic. -19.
Murthy, who owns about 0.93% of Infosys, lives with her husband on Downing Street but has chosen to have a ‘non-resident’ status in Britain, which means she does not pay taxes on her business profits. abroad. Speaking to the Sun, Sunak defended her, saying that his wife loves her homeland and should not be forced to sever ties with India because she married him. She says she plans to return to India at some point to care for her parents.
“For every penny he earns in the UK he pays taxes. And for every penny he earns internationally, for example in India, he will pay taxes. But in the end, my wife was born and raised in India. “he insisted.
“I was hoping that the most impartial would understand – although I understand that this is a confusing situation because it comes from another country”argued.
Opposition figures, however, said the minister’s questions about Murty’s tax regime were serious. Even supporters of the Conservative Party commented that the revelations were harmful to Sunak. “F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that the rich are ‘very different from you and me,'” writes the author of the conservative, influential blog ConservativeHome. “Did Sunak become so different that he did not realize the grim truth of his current situation?” he wondered.
The Telegraph wrote that Murti is richer than Queen Elizabeth, while in its main article the Times notes that Sunak’s chances of succeeding Johnson now seem to have vanished.
Murty’s spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday that the minister’s wife was considered a “non-resident” resident in the United Kingdom for tax reasons.
In Britain, more than 75,000 people, mostly foreigners, have such a tax exemption. The “non-resident” status has been targeted by those calling for tax reform, as it mainly benefits the very rich.
Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections, but have questioned whether their husbands have raised taxes on British citizens.
The minister claims that his opponents are using the wealth of his wife and father-in-law to attack him and that it is wrong to target relatives who are not elected politicians.
Mourti, 42, is estimated to own about $ 1 billion worth of shares in Infosys. She met Risi Sunak when they were both studying at Stanford and married in 2009. They own at least four properties together, including a στο 7 million London home and an apartment in Santa Monica, California. Axata Mourti is also the director of the investment company Catamaran Ventures, which she co-founded with her husband in 2013 and in 2010 launched her own fashion brand, Akshata Designs.
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