The prime minister’s tax affairs came under the spotlight in the spring when, as chancellor, it was revealed that his wife, Akshata Murty, had non-domiciled status and paid no tax in the UK. In April, Murthy agreed to pay tax on all global income going forward, though not retrospectively. She previously paid £30,000 a year for non-domiciled status, which means she pays no UK tax on her overseas income. Under current rules, the status would automatically end once he had been in Britain for 15 years. During his failed leadership campaign in the summer, Sunak said he would release his tax returns if he became prime minister. Speaking to reporters at the G20 summit in Bali, he said he would honor that commitment. Asked if he was willing to release his tax return in full, Sunak said: “Yes, of course.” He added: “That is the established precedent and I would be more than happy to follow that precedent. In terms of the timing, I will have to speak to the Cabinet Office and understand the correct way in which this is happening. But I have no problem doing it.” Asked if that would happen in his first year at No 10, Sunak said: “Yes, of course. I have to speak to the cabinet office to check the precedent of how these things happen, but I have absolutely no problem doing that.” There is no particular precedent for British prime ministers to release their tax returns, unlike in the US where presidents do. However, some prime ministers have done so in recent years. David Cameron published under pressure following revelations in the Guardian about his involvement in his late father’s offshore fund. Theresa May published hers during the 2016 leadership campaign, as did her then rival Michael Gove. However, May did not release her tax returns as prime minister despite pressure from then Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, who released his own document. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have not published their tax returns. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
