In an interview with the Guardian amid controversy over the tax status of Risi Sunak’s wife, Starmer said having an unfamiliar wife would create a “very obvious conflict of interest” for any cabinet minister. He called on the prime minister to make it clear that no other cabinet ministers had taken advantage of the off-site regime, used tax havens or benefited from offshore trusts. Sunak referred himself to the ministerial adviser for research and his wife, Aksata Merti, said last week that he would pay all UK taxes on foreign earnings in the future. Health Minister Sajid Javid also admitted on Sunday that he had been a non-host for six years while a banker before becoming an MP. However, despite the ongoing public outcry, No. 10 said Monday that he could not reveal whether other ministers or their spouses had or had previously had an off-site tax regime. Starmer said the chancellor still had “basic” things to say about how much tax his family had avoided because of Mertie’s incompetence, with estimates that he was legally avoiding paying 20 20m in UK taxes on overseas profits. . Sunak’s own financial interests are also under control, as he has resisted calls to reveal what assets he has put into a “blind” management deal, meaning they can be kept secret from the public. The Liberal Democrats wrote Monday to Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary model commissioner, asking her to launch an investigation into why Sunak had not declared financial interests between 2015 and 2019 as an MP, but then revealed the existence of blind trust in 2019. when he became Minister of Finance. Sunak never disclosed his wife’s international interests on his list of ministerial interests, although he has stated his involvement in the UK-based Catamaran Ventures. It is known to hold about 90 690 million in shares of Infosys, the Indian IT company founded by its billionaire father. The Guardian has also proven that Murty owned investments in the US through a trust in her name, the Akshata Narayana Murty Trust, which is disclosed in US records. Her spokesman did not comment, except that “all the rules were followed.” There are also ongoing questions about Sunak holding a U.S. green card for permanent residents, including for six years as a lawmaker and cabinet minister. Sunak left his job in the US in 2013, but told the same year to a British company that he testified that he lived in the UK, implying that he was giving different information to the British and US authorities about his whereabouts. The US states that green card holders will have to relinquish their status if they settle elsewhere. Despite warnings that Sunak may have violated US immigration rules, the chancellor appears set to travel to Washington next week for the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings. The controversy over Mertie’s tax arrangements, which she says has kept her status as homeless in part because she hopes to return to her native India, has led Sunak to question his future in politics. United Kingdom. Asked if there were any problems with politicians from a wealthy elite becoming prime ministers, Starmer said it was likely to create problems. “It is much more likely that there will be a conflict of interest. I do not know many people who have enrolled in a non-household program to increase their tax. “It’s pretty obvious why people do it.” But he also said there was a “broader issue” about disconnecting politics from the lives of ordinary people. “I believe that even before we get to the issue that does not concern the house, the chancellor’s response to the spring statement, to the real pressure on the people, showed that he simply does not understand it.” Starmer highlighted Sunak’s personal wealth – his four homes – and his reference to having four different types of bread in his home, as well as his decision to borrow a typical Sinsbury worker’s car for a photo shoot, as proof that he was “completely out of touch”. “You know, whether it’s getting someone else’s car, or four loaves of bread in his family, or a lot of houses, it has to do with whether he gets it. “It has to do with whether you understand, if you can relate to the very real struggles that people have and the cost of living crisis, and it dominates every conversation we have across the country.” Starmer has so far refused to commit to Labor’s long-standing policy of abolishing homelessness, first announced by Ed Miliband in 2015, but said the party was undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the tax system. Speaking to the Guardian during a campaign visit to Sunderland, he hinted that he was uncomfortable with the tax system abroad. “Most people do not have this choice; they are just a very small minority of people. This has been presented as a complicated tax situation. Is not.” Starmer also expressed hesitation about the idea that politicians should publish their own tax returns, saying it was “super-complex” and that all appropriate tax returns should be made. But he added: “There is nothing to reveal in my tax returns, [but] I can tell you, if I were prime minister, I would not go to the country saying that I want more taxes than you do, but I am secretly reducing my tax burden through programs. It’s a scoring hypocrisy. “ Starmer said he heard deeply disturbing stories from voters in the election campaign about how rising energy bills and inflation were affecting their lives. “They are really worried about paying the bills. The most repetitive thing they have told me, especially from the elderly, is that they do not turn on the heating or sit in their robe all day, because [they are] too scared to turn on the heating. “Someone told me, ‘I do not set our central heating above 12 degrees.’ Someone told me at the supermarket last week, “Now, I pick things up and then I put them down again and try to get something cheaper.” He said Labor had a message for “practical ways to deal with problems” and said people were receptive to his party’s message about taxing the extra profits of oil and gas companies to cut energy bills. “Of course, we have to show that we are the party that has to trust the economy, but I think we do.”
