Corbyn blames the Cabinet Office for tax confusion
JEREMY CORBYN yesterday blamed the Cabinet Office and “media barons” for confusion over his tax return – 18 hours after questions were first raised about his income.
The Labour leader’s statement followed questions over why his salary was declared officially as £77,000, apparently omitting the tens of thousands he also receives as Labour leader.
Mr Corbyn published his tax return online on Sunday evening in a bid to force Philip Hammond to do the same ahead of the Budget this week.
But aides were unable to explain why the salary portion of the form did not include the extra £30,000 he earned in 2015-16. Addressing the confusion yes- terday, his spokesman said the salary had been classified as a state benefit.
Two accountancy experts told the Daily Telegraph such an arrangement would be considered “unusual” although it is unlikely to have changed the amount of tax owed by the MP.
The spokesman said: “Jeremy’s tax return is complete and accurate. He has declared all income and paid the appropriate amount of tax.
“We are disappointed the Cabinet Office did not clarify this and explain the figure used on the P60 yesterday in answer to media inquiries they received.
“It is also a matter of concern that some media organisations made entirely false claims without verifying or confirming the facts, and we expect these now to be corrected. The owners of the media companies that have attempted to cast doubt over Jeremy’s transparent and accurate tax return are, of course, among those who could stand to lose from the tax transparency and justice the British people demand.
“Jeremy believes firmly in transparency. These media barons have tax questions of their own to answer.”
The third statement was markedly different in tone to the one issued just hours previously in which a second Labour spokesman said the party welcomed criticism of Mr Corbyn’s tax affairs. That statement, released to journalists via text at 7am, said: “We welcome media and public scrutiny of the Labour leader’s tax return.
“This is a matter of policy, not political point scoring. We believe in transparency.”
Responding to claims that the Cabinet Office should have clarified Mr Corbyn’s tax status on Sunday evening when questioned, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Corbyn’s tax return was a matter for the Labour party, not the Government.
HMRC did not comment, nor did the Cabinet Office. Neither comment on individual claims or answer questions relating to identifiable individuals. Ad- dressing questions about the discrepancy between Mr Corbyn’s second salary as Labour leader as declared on his form and the one published by the House of Commons, the spokesman said: “The payment he received in 201516 as Leader of the Opposition of £27,192 appears on the return as a ‘benefit’ rather than as pay because that is how it is categorised by HMRC.
“This figure is calculated after deducting the waivers Jeremy has made of earlier increases to the benefit. These waivers were also made by his predecessor, Ed Miliband. A parliamentary pension contribution of £3,395 was also deducted.”
Last year Mr Corbyn failed to declare his three pension incomes properly and faced criticism for sending the document to HMRC late.