UK Treasury Secretary’s Rishi Sunak’s wife puts husband in dilemma with tax tricks

The tax tricks of the wife of the British finance minister attract attention. Rishi Sunak sees his family exposed to a “smear campaign”.

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has come under pressure because of his wealthy wife’s legal tax tricks and years of possession of a green card for the United States. The 41-year-old, who is considered one of the most promising candidates to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announced that he would have his income statements examined by the government’s internal expert Christopher Geidt. Sunak emphasized in the message from Sunday evening that he had always behaved correctly. He had previously spoken of a “smear campaign” against his family.

Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty, daughter of Indian IT entrepreneur N.R. Narayana Murty has not previously paid any tax on income earned abroad in the UK due to her tax status. She is non-British and permanently resident abroad. According to research by the BBC, the Indian woman legally saved around 2.1 million pounds (2.5 million euros) in 2021. After severe criticism, Murty announced that from now on all income would be taxed in Great Britain.

However, the case is not over with that. The opposition criticizes the fact that the IT group Infosys, co-founded by her father and in which Murty holds 0.9 percent, has contracts with the British government. Sunak is said not to have mentioned this connection in his statements. In addition, it has since become known that he had a green card until October 2021. He thus enjoyed certain tax advantages in the USA. The opposition is now demanding full transparency about the family’s income. In a letter to Prime Minister Johnson, Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner also asked whether Sunak had ever benefited from the use of tax havens.

The opposition blames Sunak for the biggest tax hike in decades.