Lib Dems slam Rishi Sunak for timing of releasing details of finances

A good day to bury taxing news? Lib Dems slam Rishi Sunak for releasing details of his finances at the same time Boris Johnson was being grilled by MPs after months of questions

• Rishi Sunak finally released tax returns on same day Boris Johnson was grilled
• The PM paid more than £432,000 in UK taxes last year according to documents
• Timing of the release raised eyebrows from some who claimed he was burying it 

Rishi Sunak has been slammed by the Liberal Democrats for finally releasing details of his finances after months of questions at the same time Boris Johnson was being grilled by MPs over Partygate.

The Prime Minister yesterday revealed that he paid more than £432,000 in tax on an income of almost £2million last year – despite having a salary of £156,000 as Chancellor.

In the past three years, the document shows, Mr Sunak has paid £1,053,060 in tax on income of £4,766,962, a rate of 22 per cent. While there has – and no doubt always will be – significant interest in the PM’s finances, it is the timing of his release that has raised eyebrows. 

The PM’s tax affairs would no doubt have dominated the headlines had Mr Johnson not been more than two-and-a-half hours into a fight to save his political career in front of the privileges committee over Partygate.

Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokeswoman Christine Jardine publicly called out Downing Street for the timing of their release.

Rishi Sunak has been slammed for the timing of releasing his finances while Boris Johnson was being grilled over Partygate

Boris Johnson was about two-and-half-hours into his tough afternoon in front of the privileges committee when Mr Sunak released his finances

‘After months of promising to release his tax returns, I don’t understand why Rishi Sunak has snuck them out whilst the world is distracted with Boris Johnson’s partygate grilling,’ she said.

‘People will be much more concerned today about the staggering tax hikes Rishi Sunak has imposed on them.

‘The blunt truth is that we should judge politicians on their actions, not their wealth. Rishi Sunak will be remembered as the tax hiking Prime Minister and no Boris Johnson distraction will stop that.’

The timing by Downing Street will no doubt remind many of Labour aide Jo Moore suggesting that the 9/11 attacks were a ‘good day to bury bad news’ in 2001.

Ms Moore, who worked for Stephen Byers at the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, was widely condemned for the comments – and despite resigning the following year, the perception that governments may try and bury news on big days has remained. 

The PM was first asked to publish his tax returns a year ago, amid the fallout from his wife Akshata Murty’s non-dom status and his own past use of a US Green Card.

The vast bulk of tax paid by the multi-millionaire Mr Sunak was capital gains tax on income from his investment fund, the return disclosed. 

Not only did Mr Sunak’s release come during Mr Johnson’s grilling, but it also came several hours after he had won a key Commons vote that appears to have largely settled Brexit arguments in Westminster.

The vast bulk of tax paid by the multi-millionaire Prime Minister was capital gains tax on income from his investment fund, the return disclosed

It shows that on top of his £156,000 salary, from his previous role as Chancellor, Mr Sunak had a personal income of almost £2million from the blind trust

The document, from City-based Evelyn Partners, notes: ‘All of your investment income and capital gains relate to a single US-based investment fund. 

‘This is the investment listed as a ”blind management arrangement” on the List of Ministers’ Interests. 

‘You are subject to tax in the UK on your portion of the income and gains received by this fund, notwithstanding that none of those amounts are distributed to you.’

It showed he paid £432,493 in tax in the 2021/2022 financial year. The release, following a commitment first made by the Prime Minister during his Tory leadership run last summer, also showed that he paid £393,217 in 2020/2021, and £227,350 in 2019/20.

In 2021/22, Mr Sunak’s income from dividends was £172,415 and from capital gains was £1.6 million.

Labour also joined the Lib Dems in questioning the timing of the release, which came on a very busy news day in Westminster.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: ‘Wonder why he’s chosen today?’

Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokeswoman Christine Jardine (pictured) publicly called out Downing Street for the timing of their release

Labour also joined the Lib Dems in questioning the timing of the release, which came on a very busy news day in Westminster

Estimates suggest that Mr Sunak and Ms Murthy, the daughter of an Indian tech billionaire, are worth around £730million – double the estimated £300-£350million wealth of King Charles III and Camilla. 

The majority of this is thought to be due to Ms Murthy’s 0.91 per cent stake in her father’s software company, Infosys.

In 2016, Mr Cameron released a summary of his tax returns from 2009 to 2015 in an attempt to defuse a row over his personal finances. When she was home secretary, Theresa May also published a tax summary a few months later but refused to during her tenure in No 10.

Boris Johnson never released his tax details while PM, but did so when he was mayor of London.

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