Rishi Sunak Hits The Rich List While Holding Out On Help For The Poorest
People are pointing out the inconvenient timing as the chancellor and his wife enter the Sunday Times rankings for the first time.
By Graeme Demianyk
20/05/2022
Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak alongside his wife Akshata Murthy.
IAN WEST VIA PA WIRE/PA IMAGES
Rishi Sunak has become the first frontline politician to be named in The Sunday Times Rich List since its inception in 1989 – just as the chancellor faces pressure to help ease the cost-of-living crisis facing households.
On the week inflation hit a 40-year high, prompting further fears about the UK tipping into a recession, Sunak and wife Akshata Murty entered The Sunday Times Rich List for the first time with their joint £730 million fortune.
Their listing among the nation’s 250 wealthiest people also comes after their finances came under intense scrutiny when it emerged Murty holds non-domiciled status allowing her to reduce her UK tax bill.
The timing could not have been worse for the ambitious politician, who earlier this week promised a tax cut for big business but conspicuously only said he was “standing ready” to help families.
Sunak had been seen as a frontrunner in any leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson but his standing was severely dented by the scrutiny of his family’s exorbitant wealth.
The chancellor has been resisting calls to impose a windfall tax on the high profits of oil and gas giants to help fund measures to ease the crisis, as well as facing demands to cut taxes as part of a new support package.
On Friday morning, the Sunday Times Rich List revealed the couple featured at 222 in the list with the joint forecast of £730 million, driven by Murty’s £690 million stake in Infosys.
It was estimated Murty’s non-dom status could have saved her £20 million in taxes on dividends from her shares in Infosys, an Indian IT company founded by her father.
She later agreed to pay UK taxes on her worldwide income.
Sunak was cleared of breaching the ministerial code by the prime minister’s standards adviser after considering the tax affairs.
Many on social media were quick to point out how further publicity of his wealth puts Sunak in a tricky spot.
But deputy prime minister Dominic Raab praised Sunak on Times Radio.
He said: “Rishi Sunak is a fantastic example of someone who’s been successful in business who’s come in to make a big impact in public service.
“I think we want more of those people.
“I think it’s fantastic that you’ve got someone of British Indian origin, showing all people in our country that you can get to the top of politics.
“And frankly, I think if I understood correctly, The Sunday Times Rich List was a reflection of not just him, but his wife.
UK Finance Minister Sunak, wife Akshata named in list of Britain's super-rich
Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy attend a reception to celebrate the British Asian Trust in London. File
Sunak and his Indian wife Akshata Murty, whose father co-founded the IT behemoth Infosys, made the annual list for the first time with their joint £730 million ($911 million) fortune.
The bulk of their wealth is believed to come from Murty’s £690-million stake in Infosys, but Sunak also had a highly lucrative career in finance before entering politics in 2015.
The listing, which started in 1989, this year estimates the minimum wealth of Britain’s 250 richest people or families, and features far fewer Russian billionaires due to Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
Sunak’s inclusion comes a month after it was revealed that his wife was sheltered from paying tax on foreign earnings to his Treasury department after claiming so-called non-domiciled status.
The “non-dom” scheme has become controversial in recent years, particularly now that Britons face tax rises and the cost-of-living crisis, with some opposition parties calling for its abolition.
It has been estimated Murty’s non-dom status could have saved her £20 million in taxes on dividends from her shares in Infosys.
Soon after the revelations emerged, she announced she would start paying UK tax on “all worldwide income,” noting that she did not want her tax affairs to be a “distraction” for her husband.
Sunak has also faced persistent criticism for doing too little to help hard-pressed Britons as his once-rosy prospects of succeeding Prime Minister Boris Johnson have ebbed rapidly.
Critics have accused him of hypocrisy for raising taxes on people as various prices surge, while his own family has seen millions of pounds in Infosys dividends shielded from his own Exchequer.
Just this week, he warned in a keynote speech to business leaders that Britons faced a “tough” few months ahead, with inflation confirmed as the highest rate in decades at nine percent.
Agence France-Presse
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