Sunak came under fire after revelations that his wife was enjoying UK tax privileges after securing permanent residency in Britain and that she had a US green card that put him on a possible path to US citizenship. Health Minister Sajid Javid, who preceded Sunak as chancellor, also admitted that he had a non-home status before entering politics. Several senior Tories have privately criticized Sunak’s handling of the controversy over his wife’s tax status, saying it could hurt the party in local elections. The Conservatives are already preparing for losses amid the cost-of-living crisis and revelations about Downing Street parties during the Covid-19 lockdown. A minister said May 5 “will already be bad, but there is no doubt that having a chancellor who seems to be evading taxes in his own household makes it worse”. The local elections [in May] it would be awful, but at least that’s how they have someone to blame Another member of the government added: “Everyone is primarily concerned about the local elections and Risi is making our situation worse. “People are already worried about the cost of living and parties, but that has given Labor another way to kick us.” Some Tories have questioned whether the Sunak family’s tax dispute will undermine the chancellor’s ambitions to succeed Johnson as party leader. A Conservative MP said: “Local elections [in May] it would be awful, but at least that’s how they have someone to blame. Time will tell if [Sunak] can really survive all of this. ” Another Tory MP criticized Sunak for handling the dispute, saying: “I hate the idea of ​​dragging political spouses into the political dispute, but clearly the homeless status and the green card and being a chancellor do not work. What was he thinking? “ Downing Street said Monday that Boris Johnson had approved Sunak’s request that Lord Christopher Gade, an independent government adviser on ministerial standards, investigate whether the chancellor had properly stated all his interests since becoming minister. The number 10 added that the prime minister had complete confidence in Sunak, who said on Sunday that he always followed the rules. Sunak’s wife, Aksata Merti, announced last week that she would pay tax in the UK on all of her worldwide earnings after it turned out she was not home. As the owner of the family, Murty, who is an Indian national, was entitled not to pay tax in the United Kingdom on her worldwide income. It owns a stake in Indian technology company Infosys, which is valued at more than εκατο 500 million £ and received ,6 11.6 million £ in dividend revenue last year. The controversy over the Sunak family’s tax affairs dealt a second political blow to the chancellor in the swift succession: he was criticized last month for not doing more in his spring statement to help Britons with the cost-of-living crisis. Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy at Lord’s Cricket Stadium in London in August 2021. © Zac Goodwin / PA Asked if he had no contact with the British public, Sunak said on Monday: “As for the cost of living, I know it is difficult for people. . . I want to make sure that we can do, and I can do, what we can do to overcome the difficult months that will follow. “ Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has tried to contrast the ministers’ behavior with the plight of ordinary families facing the cost of living. “It really is one rule for them and another for everyone else,” he said. Starmer called on Downing Street to clarify the tax regime of all ministers and their spouses. Number 10 could not say on Monday whether other ministers had spouses who were not residents. Members are not allowed to be non-doms under British law. Sunak and his wife said last week that all taxes owed in the UK had been paid by them. The chancellor, who worked in the US before entering politics and has a home in California, resigned his green card last October after consulting with US authorities. Labor, meanwhile, has questioned whether Sunak has overseen any tax changes as chancellor that have benefited non-residents. Law firm Vinson & Elkins claimed that a tax regime in the February financial law could potentially benefit non-households. But the Treasury Department said the program was only available to fund managers and not to individuals. Labor also questioned whether Sunak declared a potential conflict of interest when the Future Fund he set up as chancellor during the pandemic to support start-ups provided a 6 650,000 convertible loan to Ms Wordsmith, an education firm. Catamaran Ventures, an investment firm controlled by Murty, was a minority shareholder in Ms. Wordsmith, which collapsed less than six months after receiving the loan. Sunak said Sunday he was confident the review by Geidt would find that “all relevant information was properly disclosed”.