Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's finance minister Rishi Sunak, has said that she will start paying UK tax on "all worldwide income," amid controversy over her non-domiciled status.
In a series of tweets shared Saturday, India-born Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, announced that she would “pay UK tax on an arising basis on all my worldwide income, including dividends and capital gains, wherever in the world that income arises.”
Akshata Murty’s statement came after recent reports that her foreign earnings were shielded from British tax authorities created a political storm for her husband Rishi Sunak. Murty has been accused of using her non-domicile status to save millions in taxes. The Labour opposition has also accused her husband Sunak of "breathtaking hypocrisy" after he raised taxes on ordinary Britons in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
In her Twitter thread, Murty emphasied that she was making the change "because I want to, not because the rules require me to", adding that the new arrangements will begin "immediately".
6/ These new arrangements will begin immediately and will also be applied to the tax year just finished (21-22).Until now, I have tried to keep my professional life and my husband’s political career entirely separate.
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— Akshata Murty (@anmurty) April 9, 2022
“Until now, I have tried to keep my professional life and my husband’s political career entirely separate,” Murty wrote. “Since Rishi entered parliament, he has not involved himself in my business affairs and I have left politics to him.”
8/ Rishi has always respected the fact that I am Indian and as proud of my country as he is of his.He’s never asked me to abandon my Indian citizenship, ties to India or my business affairs, despite the ways in which such a move would have simplified things for him politically
— Akshata Murty (@anmurty) April 9, 2022
Murty said her 0.9% stake in Infosys is not just an investment but a testament to her father’s hard work, of which she is “incredibly proud”. The decision to pay UK tax, she said, would not change the fact that “India remains the country of my birth, citizenship, parents’ home and place of domicile.”
A person's domicile is usually the country which their father considered his permanent home when the person was born, although this can change if the person plans to permanently live in Britain.
10/ My decision to pay UK tax on all my worldwide income will not change the fact that India remains the country of my birth, citizenship, parents’ home and place of domicile.But I love the UK too.
— Akshata Murty (@anmurty) April 9, 2022
Murty concluded her statement by saying she loved the UK and was proud to live there.
11/ In my time here I have invested in British businesses and supported British causes. My daughters are British. They are growing up in in the UK.I am so proud to be here.
— Akshata Murty (@anmurty) April 9, 2022
“In my time here I have invested in British businesses and supported British causes. My daughters are British. They are growing up in in the UK. I am so proud to be here,” she wrote.
Once a leading contender to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak has seen his popularity plummet in recent weeks as a result of the tax row, and has accused critics of mounting a "smear" campaign against his wife.
(With inputs from AFP)
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