Publish your tax returns to calm non-dom storm, Tories tell Rishi
RISHI Sunak is under pressure from Tory colleagues to publish his tax returns as he fights to keep his job.
The Prime Minister gave the go-ahead yesterday for the Government’s ethics chief to probe the Chancellor’s family finances.
But there were calls for Mr Sunak to release records showing how much tax he had paid.
Tory figures suggested he should follow the example of George Osborne who as chancellor published a summary of his tax return.
Baroness Altmann said it was ‘essential’ that Mr Sunak published his filings to address the concerns of voters. The Tory former pensions minister said: ‘I am always in favour of proper transparency, especially with respect to tax from a chancellor of the exchequer. That is just essential, isn’t it?
‘I imagine the Chancellor is mortified at what is going on, if publishing his tax return will assist in drawing a line under it then so much the better.’
She added: ‘There is so much anger out there. It is important for the public to see that the Chancellor has paid his fair share of taxes, that his family has not been trying to play fast and loose with the rules, and that there is not one rule for the people at the top and another for everyone else. The Chancellor had been doing a really good job until this episode, but we do need to have confidence in the people at the top of government.’
One minister said: ‘This row has dragged on for too long already, he needs to draw a line under it immediately.’
A Cabinet source added: ‘We can all see where this is heading. The more cloak and dagger he is, the more colleagues will worry something is up.’
Downing Street yesterday said Boris Johnson was not in favour of forcing ministers to publish their tax records, even though he did so himself as London mayor.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘In line with the ministerial code, the Prime Minister and all ministers provide information about their tax affairs. These are reviewed by the Cabinet Office and the independent adviser on ministerial interests.’
Mr Johnson agreed to a request from the Chancellor to launch an investigation to establish whether he had properly declared his family’s financial interests.
Mr Sunak, who has faced a backlash over his wife Akshata Murty’s former non-dom status, said his ‘over-riding concern’ was to retain public confidence. He visited Darlington yesterday to name the final two sites hoping to be the Treasury outpost in the town.
The probe, which will be led by Lord Geidt, the PM’s sleaze-busting adviser on ministerial interests, will examine whether the Chancellor declared all the relevant information about his finances needed to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
The investigation has been given the go-ahead even though the Government previously claimed Lord Geidt was content with Mr Sunak’s declarations.
Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer said the issues around the Chancellor’s tax affairs were a ‘matter of real fairness’.
‘I don’t have any non-doms in the Shadow Cabinet because I understand the fairness of the issue,’ he added.
‘Row has dragged on too long’