Goodness - golden boy Sunak now less popular than Starmer!

Rishi Sunak ‘was declared permanent US resident’ while UK chancellor. Sunaks father in law owns Infosys. Public records also show Infosys has received more than £50 million in UK public sector contracts since 2015.

MissAdventure

He certainly won't be feeling the pinch.

I said to DH that perhaps Sunak ought to live for a year (although 6 months should do it) on the barest minimum income and have to use a food bank and wonder whether to put money in the meter or buy the children school shoes.

Playing with the country's finances is an academic exercise for someone so rich and with probably little understanding of how many people have to live.

Jess20

A non- Dom must have an expectation to return to their country so where does that leave Rishi? Is she going to leave him behind or is he just living in the UK until she returns home? Or perhaps a marriage of convenience, or a long distance relationship? I think it throws their committment to the country he's in government into question

It doesn't say a lot about their commitment to the UK.

jocork You are correct ... and Germany is very strict about it. If he didn't pay his tax in Germany, he would be deported. He almost certainly also pays German health insurance and probably National Insurance on his UK earnings ... that's how it works for us lesser mortals.

montymops

Oh dear - so much spite, envy and greed- so - Rishi had an excellent education - Winchester, Lincoln College Oxford, Stanford in California. His wife is also very well qualified. They are rich. I’m glad such an intelligent person is in charge of the exchequer. All private schools and probably some state schools and university colleges lobby their alumni for funds. I am annually asked for contributions to various projects by my school and university college. We have all just come out of a pandemic which has cost the country dear. Vladimir Putin has just clobbered a good recovery. If anyone didn’t expect life to be tough, more expensive and difficult after all this , then they are living on another planet. I was alive in the 40’s after WW2 - no central heating, one boiler in the kitchen , ice on the inside of the windows in winter, no sweets no toys, rationed food, no new clothes, yes - we survived somehow. The 1970’s were not easy either - interest rates at 15%- rationed electricity and heating, food shortages-
Who on earth would have liked to be in power over the last few years - as someone else said ‘ give the Sunaks a break’ and let them get on with the job. We are all going to feel the pinch so we’ll have to get used to it and thank god we’re not living in Ukraine.

How often do you doff your cap every day?

montymops

Oh dear - so much spite, envy and greed- so - Rishi had an excellent education - Winchester, Lincoln College Oxford, Stanford in California. His wife is also very well qualified. They are rich. I’m glad such an intelligent person is in charge of the exchequer. All private schools and probably some state schools and university colleges lobby their alumni for funds. I am annually asked for contributions to various projects by my school and university college. We have all just come out of a pandemic which has cost the country dear. Vladimir Putin has just clobbered a good recovery. If anyone didn’t expect life to be tough, more expensive and difficult after all this , then they are living on another planet. I was alive in the 40’s after WW2 - no central heating, one boiler in the kitchen , ice on the inside of the windows in winter, no sweets no toys, rationed food, no new clothes, yes - we survived somehow. The 1970’s were not easy either - interest rates at 15%- rationed electricity and heating, food shortages-
Who on earth would have liked to be in power over the last few years - as someone else said ‘ give the Sunaks a break’ and let them get on with the job. We are all going to feel the pinch so we’ll have to get used to it and thank god we’re not living in Ukraine.

When will people stop referring to the politics of envy? I'm not envious of his great wealth, or that of his wife. I doubt if many people are.

I am, however, certain that he is not the right person to be Chancellor. He is certainly well educated but his job was that of a hedge fund manager and I don't see how this trained him to manage a countries finances. There is more to being Chancellor than buying and selling investments.

His background does not help either for he has little or no experience of how most people have to be careful with their money and more people are heading for poverty and not being able to make ends meet.

Oh dear - so much spite, envy and greed-

Certainly plenty of greed on the part of the Sunaks, montymops

Would you like some help in finding your moral compass? You seem to have lost it somewhere...

4allweknow

There will be many like her residing in UK. It's only due to her being married to a high level politician she is being targeted.

How many do you think?

How many people who are able to see a tax advantage in paying the government £30,000 per annum because it will mean that they save more than that in the tax they won't have to pay on their overseas earnings? £30,000 pa is more than the average yearly salary in the UK.

As to why she is being targeted, please see my post at 12.46 today.

He certainly won't be feeling the pinch.

Oh dear - so much spite, envy and greed- so - Rishi had an excellent education - Winchester, Lincoln College Oxford, Stanford in California. His wife is also very well qualified. They are rich. I’m glad such an intelligent person is in charge of the exchequer. All private schools and probably some state schools and university colleges lobby their alumni for funds. I am annually asked for contributions to various projects by my school and university college. We have all just come out of a pandemic which has cost the country dear. Vladimir Putin has just clobbered a good recovery. If anyone didn’t expect life to be tough, more expensive and difficult after all this , then they are living on another planet. I was alive in the 40’s after WW2 - no central heating, one boiler in the kitchen , ice on the inside of the windows in winter, no sweets no toys, rationed food, no new clothes, yes - we survived somehow. The 1970’s were not easy either - interest rates at 15%- rationed electricity and heating, food shortages-
Who on earth would have liked to be in power over the last few years - as someone else said ‘ give the Sunaks a break’ and let them get on with the job. We are all going to feel the pinch so we’ll have to get used to it and thank god we’re not living in Ukraine.

Then people can aim their criticism at the food bank users.

My son has a job in Germany, where he lives, but another in the UK, where he teaches remotely. I think he pays all his tax in Germany at present. He will return to the UK in the Summer when his contract in Germany ends. He will then go full time in the UK and pay tax in the UK. My understanding is that the tax he pays in Germany on his UK income is higher than it would be here but it must be the way it works out under the double tax treaty. I don't really know the details of how it works but I heard him mention something about it when he took the second job.

For ordinary mortals doing jobs with modest income I'm sure it is a perfectly fair system, but for the very rich the question of legality v morality becomes significant. To have a chancellor who benefits from such an anomaly of the tax system and who cannot possibly really understand how the poor live is deeply problematic. No wonder his Spring statement did little to help the poorest in our society.

Sadly the people suffering most from the cost of living rises are those with no buffer to protect them, who were already struggling to manage. There will be increased pressure on the foodbanks and other charities who attempt to support them, and many will fall through the net I'm sure. Meanwhile RS and the other rich Tories can merely tighten their belts a little or simply settle for a few less £s in their bank accounts, while many in our country face desperation as their income falls and their expenses rise. I'm off now to volunteer at my local foodbank in the hope that in a small way I reduce the burden for a few needy people!

The Tory mindset.

crooks in suits

There will be many like her residing in UK. It's only due to her being married to a high level politician she is being targeted.

Urmstongram If, as a UK resident with income abroad, you are taxed at source on that income in the country in which it arises. You then receive a credit for the foreign tax against your UK income.

Anyone previously employed by the UK state, such as teachers, even if they live abroad, is taxed by the UK on their employment pension (this does not include the state retirement pension). That same pension has to be declared in their country of residence. At which point the DDTs come into play.

Thank you Dinahmo for explaining this. ?

Yet we send aid to India….no comment.

A non- Dom must have an expectation to return to their country so where does that leave Rishi? Is she going to leave him behind or is he just living in the UK until she returns home? Or perhaps a marriage of convenience, or a long distance relationship? I think it throws their committment to the country he's in government into question

Ailidh

I hold no brief for the Sunaks - her, I don't know; him I don't know either but I was appalled by the spring statement.

However, I don't see why she should have to pay tax on income which has been earned and taxed in another country. As far as I can see its legal, and while I support taxation 100% to fund key services, I couldn't warm to the idea of having to pay it twice.

But she’s not living in India, she’s living in the UK and benefitting from our economy. The deal is, you pay tax into the communal pot for the good of everyone. This is a loophole that the wealthy regularly take advantage of, and given the governments’ track record of utter contempt shown for the public facing difficulties because of the pandemic and the economic climate, it’s reprehensible that anyone connected to any government minister should be allowed to take advantage of it. There’s only so much hypocrisy the public can stomach.

I know I’ll get told off for mentioning brexit but there’s quite a link with India and brexit. A lot of Indian people voted for brexit because they were aggrieved that Europeans could come and work/live here easier than their relatives. There were also a lot of attempts to get Indian people to fill the gaps left by EU workers who no longer felt welcome here. Johnson desperate to get trade deals with India to fill trade deals lost with the EU. And, to add insult to injury, India appear to be siding with Putin at this moment in time.

Oh, try this one:

She even pays reduced taxes in India on her Indian investments.

www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/explainer-why-is-akshata-murthys-wealth-controversial-6171951.html

Anyway Sunak’s wife isn’t a public figure and her tax affairs are nothing to do with us.

Well, I'm afraid they are.

Firstly, if there is a case to be made for ending non dom status how much could our Chancellor be depended on not to be influenced in his decision whether or not to end it by the fact that it is an extremely financially advantageous status for his wife to have?

This is a conflict of interest. In most 'governing' institutions persons with a conflict of interest are not allowed to take any part in making decisions about areas which involve that 'conflict'. Can't do that with with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Secondly, do we have a Chancellor who doesn't intend the UK to be his permanent home? If we do, we can question how whole hearted is his commitment to the country in which he holds one of the highest offices of state.

Facts - I love them.

1. Akshata Murthy is a citizen of India.
2. India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously.
3. Domicile has nothing to do with a person’s nationality.
4. Domicile has nothing to do with not being able to have a British passport.
5. No one is given non-domiciled status unless they apply for it. A person is only non-domiciled if they ask to be.
6. Nationality will not ever mean you are automatically non-domiciled.
7. A person can give up the claim to be non-domiciled at any time.
8. Your claim for not being domiciled in the UK can be based on you having no strong ties with the UK or a source of income, that you actively manage, elsewhere.
9. The IR consider the longer you are in the UK the less you are likely to be domiciled elsewhere.

Looking at whether Ms Murthy has strong ties with the UK and could be considered to be domiciled here we can see:

1. She has, with her husband, four homes. Three in the UK and a "holiday home" in the USA. She does not appear to own a home in India.
2. They choose to holiday in the USA and not India.
3. She is married to a man whose current career is only possible in the UK.
4. It appears the children of this marriage are educated herein the UK.

There may be ties to India we are not aware of but surely the Inland Revenue should be asking questions?

These facts are almost entirely thanks to Is the Chancellor’s wife really a non-dom? It’s a question needing an answer (taxresearch.org.uk) I would be really interested in facts from other, equally qualified sources.

His wife definitely needs looking into. There's loads of MPs of all parties that could do with an investigation into their own and their families financial circumstances. Accountants make a lot of money by finding loopholes these should be plugged, especially for high paid high-ranking officials.

As I understand it she’s been living in Britain for 8 years and now pays £30,000 to maintain her non dom status. Her spokesperson says she will return to India at some point to care for her elderly parents. Presumably this will be before the 15 year time limit for non Dom’s-then she can return and start all over again. It might be legal but looks hypocritical when your husband is taxing the struggling poor and your Downing Street flat and country residence are funded by those taxes