Rishi Sunak has defended his multi-millionaire wife after she came under attack for her ‘non-dom’ status, but what everyone wants to know is; what is the status and what does it mean for her paying taxes?
Just days after the people of the UK would be subjected to tax rises the chancellor’s wife, Akshata Murty, was revealed to have allegedly swerved around £4.5 million in tax all down to her ‘non-dom’ status.
Who is Akshata Murty?
Murty is the wife of the the UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak. They got married in 2009 and have two children together. But while her husband pursued a life of politics Murty has several of her own business endeavours. Murty is legally an Indian citizen and owns a 0.9% stake in Infosys, the software giant founded by her billionaire father. Her stake fluctuates in value but is estimated to be worth more than £500m.
She receives annual dividend payments on the shares, which last year were reported to be worth £11.6m and her net worth is reported to be around £450 million – more than the Queen. However, it was revealed Murty pays £30,000 a year to maintain her ‘non-dom’ status.
What is Non-Dom status?
‘Non-Dom’ stands for non-domicile status which is for someone who lives in the UK and is tax resident here, but who has their permanent home outside the country. A person with this status doesn’t have to pay UK tax on income and capital gains earned overseas – including on company stocks or cash made from selling a second home – unless they bring their money into the UK or deposit it into a UK bank account. However, non-doms do still have to pay tax on money earned within the UK.
As Murty opted to claim non-dom status, she does not have to pay UK tax on her overseas income. This has lead to critics saying have avoided about £4.5m in UK tax last year. The fee for non-dom status rises to £60,000 a year when a person has been in the UK for at least 12 of the previous 14 years – but it has not been revealed when, since her marriage in 2009, how long she has claimed the status.
Why this annoyed people:
This came to light after taxes raised for millions of workers across the country – who are already under strain due to rising energy prices – so Labour critics of the chancellor’s wife called it “breathtaking hypocrisy” this was going on in the UK and Murty had reduced her tax bill.
Sunak Defends His Wife
In an interview with The Sun Sunak has defended his wife saying this news is a smear against his wife as a way to get to him. He said: ‘To smear my wife to get at me is awful.’
He added: ‘Every single penny she earns in the UK she pays UK taxes on… and every penny that she earns internationally, for example in India, she would pay the full taxes on that.’
