Labour attacks Rishi Sunak for ‘benefiting from tax loophole’

Labour has attacked prime minister Rishi Sunak, suggesting he has no qualms about his family benefitting from a “loophole” in the UK’s taxation.

A digital poster of the opposition party, posted on social media on Tuesday (11) with a photo of the prime minister reads: “Do you think it’s right to raise taxes for working people when your family benefitted from a tax loophole? Rishi Sunak does.”

Sunak’s Indian wife Akshata Murty enjoyed non-domicile status in the UK which meant she did not have to pay British taxes on her overseas income. But the daughter of Infosys co-founder NR Narayan Murthy gave up the tax status last year after it became a political issue when Sunak was the chancellor of the exchequer.

Sunak and his wife, who became the richest ever occupants of 10 Downing Street, were ranked 17th on the Asian Rich List last year, with an estimated wealth of £790 million.

Labour said on Twitter that it would “scrap the Tories’ non-dom tax loophole” if the party came to power.

Its digital poster also reads: "The Tories have raised taxes 24 times since 2019, leaving the British people facing the highest tax burden in 70 years. And they refuse to close the non-dom tax loopholes."

It also promised that a Labour government "would freeze your council tax this year” which would be compensated by “a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants".

The Bank of England, like many other central banks in the world, has raised interest rates several times in the past year to tame record-high inflation.

Sunak has repeatedly said any easing of taxes now would fuel prices further and deepen the cost-of-living crisis, an argument many economists agree with.

However, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer blamed Sunak for the UK’s sluggish economic growth and accused him of “wasting” public money by “handing over billions to fraudsters at every turn.”

In a message to the shadow cabinet, Starmer said the prime minister “oversaw a stalling recovery”, which meant Britain failed to expand beyond its pre-pandemic level.