Rishi Sunak’s wife is NOT elected OR in a public role but she is a woman

[BigGreenSpacehopper]

Have you noticed that Zac Goldsmith (elected), Mark Carney (role of significance to all of us as Govenor of the Bank of England), 4th Viscount Rothmere (controlling shareholder and Chair of the Daily Mail) all have non Dom status but no mention is really made. However, a woman, who has no public role, has never said anything public, is being criticised for her non Dom status?

And yes she’s getting massive dividends but I imagine as it’s family money there is a massive pre-nup in place so it’s not like Rishi will be able to run off with it!

Blossomtoes

Silly me - I thought the Labour Party were claiming the moral high ground.

OnlyFoolsnMothers
Clavinova can you raise a family on 35k given the current costs of living?

How long is a piece of string? How many children? Where do they live - North East England or London? Mortgage or social housing? Single parent earning £35,000? Do they run a car...?

[quote Clavinova]He is the chancellor, raising NI contributions for the poorest in society

From April 2022, anybody earning more than £9,880 a year will pay 1.25p more in the pound.

From July 2022 the point at which employees start paying NI will increase to £12,570.

Combining those two measures means that in the 12 months from April 2022, anyone earning less than about £34,000 will pay less NI than they did last year. Anybody earning more than that will pay more.

An employee on £20,000 a year will pay £178 less NI in 2022-23 than they did the previous year.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58436009[/quote]
All of that is nominal cash terms.

And that is only NI.

What do you think happens when benefits only get uprated by 3.1% when inflation hits 10%?

That marginal NI decrease gets eaten.

People are left much poorer in real term. Period.

No amount of mental gymnastics will obfuscate that fact. It was a mind-boggingly terrible idea to raise NI now because this also affects employment.

Also, could he have been more cynical with his "I will reduce income tax in 2024 by 1 point" nonsense?

He is am empty suit who happens to be backed by a world class PR and Marketing firm.

Thats all he is. He has no idea that sometimes real politics is hard work.

Silly me - I thought the Labour Party were claiming the moral high ground

Did you? Why did you think that?

Whether or not it’s too damaging or ‘done’ depends on who is reacting to it

If it’s people who would vote Labour anyway then not necessarily.

It’s not the voters who always vote to the left that are key as they won’t swing but those in the middle

For anyone who tries for the PM place

How long is a piece of string? How many children? Where do they live - North East England or London? Mortgage or social housing? Single parent earning £35,000? Do they run a car...? really isn’t a piece of string- it’s near on fucking impossible short of having no housing costs at all and a lump sum in the bank.

@BlingLoving

I have no issue with her personally or the fact that she has chosen a perfectly legal way to be more tax efficient. (although I DO have a problem with the fact that our tax system allows SOOOOO many useful loopholes for rich people and corporates).

The issue is that her husband is the chancellor and he is an elected official.

1. We ARE allowed to make moral judgements on the people we elect, particularly at this level. Many many people I know do whatever they can to be tax efficient but ALSO make moral judgements. This includes tax affairs and decision making re, for example, investments in Russia during a time of war.

1. when I worked in the City for an investment bank, DH was considered to have similar restrictions as me in terms of private investments. I even had to check on a particular investment my father was making because of my role at the bank. This is because relationships of this sort are such that information and/or decisions by one can affect the other. Considering Sunak's decisions affect millions of people, it is not unreasonable for the rest of us to be concerned whether he is making such decisions for our benefit or the person he is married to.

Re point 2. I don't think most people understand how and why financial regulations around declarations matter.

I have to make all the same declarations around investments/loans/funds for myself and close family members whenever I work clients in banking/financial services and I don't even work directly for them or their financial policy groups!

The idea that the key member of government making decisions on national finance is exempt from this scrutiny, was even declared as a foreign resident whilst acting as Chancellor is mind boggling.

Their refusal to state where Murty does pay tax or if she pays taxes on foreign income would not fly for joe average working on sensitive financial information.

However many of the regular shills jump onto this thread with whataboutery and deflection, the reality of the situation and the fact that even Sunak's main allies were not aware is pretty shocking.

There’s a deeper, separate issue throughout British (international) politics when it comes to whether tax loopholes should exist in the form they do, but in Sunak’s case, while his wife is doing nothing illegal, he is the Chancellor of the Exchequer at a time when millions of people are facing terrible financial hardship. Whilst ‘ordinary’ people are having to choose between eating and being warm, his family is massively benefiting from financial loopholes. It may be legal, but it’s terrible optics and absolutely paints him as out of touch as to the reality the general public is facing. He is aware of this himself, hence the ‘I’m a man of the people, really!’ stunts that keep backfiring on him.

The family members of politicians generally do get focused on. Look at Mark Thatcher’s antics being highlighted for example. Hunter Biden in the US is another one that immediately comes to mind.

I think things are going to be awful for a lot of people. The next 3 months with the higher NI on even the very low paid. The 3.1% increase in benefits is laughable. I'm a pensioner and I'm lucky I have other income but my 3.1% increase doesn't cover the increase in my council tax and gas and electric DD, then food is rocketing.

It must be a nightmare for lots of families and are we going back to my gran's day when she'd feed her kids and go hungry? That was back in the 1930s.

For months I've been saying we are going back to the 70s, lately I've been saying it's the 50s and now I'm thinking could it really be the 30s?

In a way it isn't Sunak's fault, how can someone with his money and education possibly understand, it is almost an impossible ask. Will people blame him? Yes I think if you are cold and hungry and worried about your children you will blame him.

@JaniieJones

'Greed. Pure and simple and wrong. He is the chancellor, raising NI contributions for the poorest in society whilst a family member doesn't bother to pay the tax that she should.'

The 'poorest' on benefits won't pay anyway and the threshold for ni has been raised so those on lower incomes won't pay from July. He had to do something to pay for the massive pandemic debt.

She does pay the tax she should. In the UK on her UK income, in India on her income from India. Why aren't people understanding this?

They are going to struggle in April, May and June aren't they. I can't see that they are going to get that paid back like they would if their tax code changed in July but maybe I missed that.

Does she pay tax in India? Mr Sunak didn't say that did he.

His education is really bog standard for MPs. He is definitely one of the smarter ones. If I were in his position, I would probably brief against myself so that I could jump ship before the winter of 2022.

I dread to think what it would be like if 'Stilts' (Simon Clarke) takes over. Mind you, he fits the Tory Brexiteer profile a lot better than Rishi and his affluent upbringing is within the range deemed acceptable in an age of austerity. Perhaps Boris would like to hastily replace Sunak with a less divisive new face.

Does she pay tax in India? Mr Sunak didn't say that did he.

Given it is worth her paying £30,000 a year for the privilege of saving paying full tax here I doubt she pays a lot in India if she does!

'Does she pay tax in India? Mr Sunak didn't say that did he.'

She pays tax on her income in India in India.

She pays tax on her UK income in the UK.

It’s not just about where she pays tax on her Indian income (dividends) now but where she has paid tax on it while she (and Sunak) was the holder of a US Green Card giving them permanent residence in the US. The US rules require her to pay tax in the US on her worldwide income. So did she? And if she did, why can’t she do the same in the UK?

Also, does she have income from countries other than UK and India? Any US income? Any offshore accounts?

Sunak is the Chancellor so her tax decisions are relevant as they will influence his thinking.

I think Sunak is done or should be done but hey ho….

The woman lives permanently in Downing Street! And her husband is the chancellor. It might be legal but it takes CF now a whole new level. They just don't care!

@JaniieJones

'Does she pay tax in India? Mr Sunak didn't say that did he.'

She pays tax on her income in India in India.

She pays tax on her UK income in the UK.

Have they actually confirmed she pays tax in India now? bBecause for days they were very vague about that, only saying that she paid the tax due, not where it was paid, leaving some people, including me, suspecting that these assets are actually held in some tax haven.

If she is paying Indian tax, that might be OK (although we still have the issue of the Chancellor's family apparently not being committed to a future in UK) but I don't think they've actually confirmed that she is?

@BigGreenSpacehopper

No one complained when he was making £200bn available for furlough. No it didn’t go far enough as the £20 uplift was being removed, and it was it wasn’t going on for long enough and, and, and…. All this hand wringing now it’s got to be paid back and all decisions he made are ‘terrible’ and ‘awful’.

She isn’t elected. She doesn’t sit anywhere.

Dividend tax has also gone up - by 1.25%. It’s mainly so people don’t use businesses to escape the NI route but it effects all dividends equally - including investment income.

And he is unethical because her family has money? What does he do - divorce her?

That strikes me as absurd as someone saying don’t have children you can’t afford as the response can be - I can’t push them back in…

He declared it. The business isn’t even here and we have no idea what tax is or isn’t paid elsewhere.

The problem we have here is that cabinet position are gifts from the PM. In America you have to show why should do a job

I did, I could see it being fiddled from day one. I said how it would be done.

I also thought people receiving up to £2,500 per month should have had an obligation to do some voluntary work. Not a fulltime job but as an example we had a local group doing things like collecting prescriptions and shopping for people. They were overrun and struggling. Couldn't someone on furlough have done a couple of hour a week. What a difference that would have made.

People were acting like he was putting his hand in his own pocket and paying out this money. It was our money he was handing out and we know some of the details of the fraud that went on but we don't know it all.

The spokesperson referenced paying "international tax" - could be in India, could be Caymens (alternative tax havens are available).

@JaniieJones

'Does she pay tax in India? Mr Sunak didn't say that did he.'

She pays tax on her income in India in India.

She pays tax on her UK income in the UK.

Could you let us know where that is confirmed. All I can find is she pays her "international" tax. Doesn't say she pays it in India.

I think it is highly likely that she is managing to stay non resident by flying out to the US and India (or elsewhere) for the minimum number of days required in a fiscal year. It is a well trodden path for HNWs.

Private school holidays can be really, really long and she has plenty of other people helping out with their daughters. She certainly doesn't do the school run more than a couple of times per term.

Therefore, she would probably not find it hard to avoid becoming ordinarily resident either. She thought that she had seven years of non dom left left before it would be up for questioning and has always kept a low profile (probably been advised to do this!) so it has potentially thrown a spanner in the works!

Just because she is married to Rishi and registered as living at Downing Street, if she has been out of the country for enough time then that would count as being more relevant.

Alexandra2001
Sunak's wife's family are strong backers of Modi...

Are they?
Is that why Infosys pledged $1 million towards Ukrainian relief efforts last month?

Why are you blaming Modi for Putin's actions? Do you blame Ireland as well?

Article in the Irish press today;

How can Ireland really help Ukraine? Stop bankrolling Russia's oligarchs.

In 2018 researchers investigating global tax evasion made a shocking discovery. With less than 0.1 per cent of the world’s population, Ireland was the biggest tax haven on the planet in 2015.

www.thejournal.ie/readme/ireland-tax-haven-ifsc-5730209-Apr2022/

Fintan O’Toole: Putin and the oligarchs have found a home for their money in Dublin. Between 2005 and 2017, more than €118 billion was funnelled from the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin to entities in Russia.

I think even before this came to light my opinion on him is that he’s an elitist happily prepared to sacrifice the poorest. Now that this has come to light i find him and his wife despicable and unworthy of a chancellor role,

Is that why Infosys pledged $1 million towards Ukrainian relief efforts last month

I think you will find that was a hasty PR exercise to try and remediate the damage from their attempt to grow their Russian offices and profit by other companies complying with sanctions and pulling out.

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

People are saying Sunak's wife because that's the context of the issue. Akshata Murty, rich Indian non-dom woman? She's obeying the law. Mrs Sunak, rich Indian non-dom wife of the Chancellor who's hiking tax and doing nothing to help people who are the poorest? Leaves a bad taste.

Exactly! How can someone who is married to the British chancellor of the Exchequer, whose children are in school here, possibly claim she doesn’t really live here. It’s despicable, even if not illegal. And the fee to claim (plus the £££ she will have paid to some big 4 firm for handling it all for her) is more than most families live on per year!

@Clavinova

Alexandra2001 Sunak's wife's family are strong backers of Modi...

Are they?
Is that why Infosys pledged $1 million towards Ukrainian relief efforts last month?

Why are you blaming Modi for Putin's actions? Do you blame Ireland as well?

Article in the Irish press today;

How can Ireland really help Ukraine? Stop bankrolling Russia's oligarchs.

In 2018 researchers investigating global tax evasion made a shocking discovery. With less than 0.1 per cent of the world’s population, Ireland was the biggest tax haven on the planet in 2015.

www.thejournal.ie/readme/ireland-tax-haven-ifsc-5730209-Apr2022/

Fintan O’Toole: Putin and the oligarchs have found a home for their money in Dublin. Between 2005 and 2017, more than €118 billion was funnelled from the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin to entities in Russia.

I think you need to tell your employer (Conservative Home or similar) that the jig is up.

Nobody cares anymore about your silly attempts at misdirection.