Zahawi ‘ had to pay penalty to taxman as part of £5m bill’

THE Conservative Party chairman paid a penalty to HM Revenue and Customs as part of a multi-million-pound tax bill, it was claimed last night.

Nadhim Zahawi has faced extensive calls to explain his tax arrangements after he agreed to pay millions last month to settle a dispute.

Now it is claimed he may have paid a penalty imposed by HMRC as part of the bill, believed to run to around £5million in total, according to The Guardian.

It was reported last July that tax experts believed Mr Zahawi may have owed £3.7million in capital gains tax.

It is understood HMRC applied a 30 per cent penalty to the figure and added interest, taking the total to more than £5million, it was reported.

A spokesman for Mr Zahawi, one of the co-founders of the polling firm YouGov, said he ‘did not recognise this amount’ and that ‘his taxes are properly declared and paid in the UK’. Penalties can be levied if a taxpayer does not pay the correct tax at the right time, according to the HMRC website.

The multi-millionaire former chancellor has previously faced questions over shares in YouGov – which were granted to its founders – being placed in a company based in Gibraltar.

He has labelled allegations that he had not paid his tax in full as ‘smears’.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner last night called for Mr Zahawi to be sacked, saying his position was ‘untenable’.

But Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove defended him on BBC Radio on Thursday, saying: ‘My firm understanding is HMRC have no quibble with Nadhim. He’s paid everything that he should.’

Tory party HQ did not respond to requests for comment. HMRC declined to comment.