George Eustice, the environment minister, spoke as the chancellor remained in the spotlight over revelations that he owned the U.S. residence even after moving to No. 11, while his multimillion-dollar wife could have saved tens of millions through his tenure. non-dom status. Mr Sunak has now asked the prime minister to refer him to Lord Geidt, the minister’s independent adviser on the interests of the ministers, to determine whether all his interests have been “properly declared”. Akshata Murty’s wife’s tax leak is also being investigated. A key issue under consideration is the chancellor’s admission that he did not relinquish his US green card after living and working in the United States until last fall, a year and a half after his appointment. Asked if it was appropriate for a foreign national to be in charge of UK taxation, Mr Eustice told Sky News: “He had a US green card – I’m not an expert in this, I have never had one. nor would I ever seek to have one to be honest. “It has now been referred to the Ministerial Standards Adviser. “Lord Geidt will look into all this and make an assessment of whether he said all the right things at the right time.” Mr Eustice was also questioned about the tax status of his colleagues in the Cabinet, after Murty’s audit prompted Health Minister Sajid Javid to reveal that he had previously been homeless. Asked if another minister could come and say the same thing, he said: “I am not the accountant of my fellow ministers in the Council of Ministers. “I do not know anyone who may or may not have been homeless. “I can tell you that I would never have and would never seek to have.” Asked if he understood the public outrage over the revelations at a time of crisis in the cost of living, Eustice said: “I think people should judge the chancellor. “The man who is the chancellor at the moment has paid all his taxes and income taxes and he said all this in the UK and he was clear about that. “Of course there is a pressure on the cost of living right now, we all recognize that – we all recognize that there are some tough tax decisions going on to help get the NHS back on track, but we are also doing what we can. to help people in these difficult times. “ The focus on Mrs Merti last week prompted her to say she would now pay taxes in the UK on all of her global income, although reports suggest she will still be able to avoid inheritance tax. As to whether this was “morally correct”, Mr Eustice said: “He is not a chancellor, he is not in politics.”
