London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

While her husband rips you off with endless taxes, Akshata Murty may have avoided up to £20m in tax with non-dom status

While her husband rips you off with endless taxes, Akshata Murty may have avoided up to £20m in tax with non-dom status

Pressure grows on chancellor over tax evasion of wife, who pays £30,000 a year to be classed as non-domiciled

Rishi Sunak’s wife has potentially avoided up to £20m in UK tax by being non-domiciled and pays £30,000 a year to keep the status – revelations that come amid growing political pressure on the chancellor.

Akshata Murty gets about £11.5m a year in dividends from a stake in an Indian IT firm and declares non-dom status, which allows people to avoid tax on foreign earnings, it emerged on Wednesday.

On Thursday her spokesperson said all necessary tax was paid by Murty but declined to say where, as that information was not “relevant”. They conceded it was possible for someone in the multimillionaire’s position to take advantage of tax havens on income earned outside the UK.

Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said it would be “breathtaking hypocrisy” if Murty had been reducing her liabilities while the chancellor was raising taxes on others amid a cost of living crisis.

The row risks further damaging Sunak’s carefully honed brand among voters and Conservative MPs, already hit by last month’s spring statement, with a former minister warning the timing was especially bad coming days after the national insurance rise came into force.

Murty has collected about 5.4bn Indian rupees (£54.5m) in dividends from Infosys, the Indian-headquartered IT business founded by her father, over the past seven and a half years, the period for which there is public data. Non-dom status for that whole period could have saved her about £20m in UK taxes.

Last year she collected dividends of £11.6m. As a higher rate UK taxpayer she would have been expected to pay 38.1% tax on the payout, which works out at £4.4m. Before 2016, the rate was 30.6%. It rose to 39.35% this week.

One factor which could reduce the total Murty would have been eligible to pay would be any reduction under double tax treaties between the UK and India, tax experts said.

Murty’s spokesperson said they had no comment on the £20m figure beyond reiterating she paid relevant taxes on UK and overseas incomes. They accepted that people with such tax arrangements could theoretically minimise payments using tax havens, while saying they had no comment as to whether Murty did this.

Murty has previously collected other dividend income via the tax haven of Mauritius, which does not tax dividends. The spokesperson also declined to elaborate on the initial explanation for Murty’s non-dom tax status – the fact she has Indian citizenship – when this would still mean such a tax arrangement was a choice.

Labour wrote to Sunak with a series of questions on his wife’s tax position. James Murray, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, wrote that it was “in the vital public interest” that he provide clarity on issues including whether he had benefited from his wife’s status, how long she had claimed it and how much she had saved.

“As chancellor it is crucial you both follow the rules and lead by example,” Murray said. “Any impression that there is one set of rules favouring a few, and another for everyone else, threatens the integrity of tax policy in our country.”

The Liberal Democrats said the case showed a law which bars MPs and peers from having non-dom status should be extended to spouses to avoid any risk of conflicts of interest.

There was also concern from some Conservative MPs. A former minister said: “The perception is [an attitude of] ‘what is the problem?’ Here is someone worth £3bn who has a different tax arrangement. I’m sure everything is above board but that’s not the point.”

Another Tory MP, a Boris Johnson loyalist, said it would be hard for MPs to stomach given Sunak had put up taxes. “There’s this guy, as rich as Croesus, putting up taxes when people are worrying about the next gas bill.”

On Thursday evening Sunak rejected accusations of hypocrisy or tax avoidance, telling the Sun that every penny owed by Murty in the UK is paid. “To smear my wife to get at me is awful,” he said. “She loves her country like I love mine.”

But Treasury sources strongly denied reports that Sunak believes Downing Street is behind the leaks about his wife’s tax status. “It is categorically not true that Rishi or anyone else in his team believe this is coming from No 10,” one told the Guardian.

While Murty’s spokesperson characterised her tax status as a function of her Indian citizenship, tax experts said non-dom status is not automatic but a choice.

Prof Richard Murphy, a Sheffield University academic who co-founded the Tax Justice Network, said: “Domicile has nothing to do with a person’s nationality. In other words, the claims made in the statement issued by Ms Murty are wrong.”

Mike Warburton, formerly tax director at accountants Grant Thornton, said Murty was entitled to Indian tax domicile because of her father and because she was born there, saying it was “entirely legal and entirely appropriate” for her to do this.

He said: “I don’t know, of course, but it may be that those shares are held in an offshore trust, possibly set up by her father. If I had been advising her, I would have suggested it to them. In my view this is all bog-standard planning for anyone who takes professional advice.”

Speaking to Sky News, Starmer said the chancellor “has very, very serious questions to answer”. The Labour leader said Sunak had repeatedly raised taxes.

“He says all of this is necessary, there’s no option. If it now transpires that his wife has been using schemes to reduce her own tax, then I’m afraid that is breathtaking hypocrisy.

“We need complete transparency on this, so that we can all understand what schemes she may have been using to reduce her own tax.”

Earlier the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, insisted the chancellor and his wife had been “incredibly transparent” about the arrangement.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “She’s an Indian citizen. And so she, as you say, pays tax here on UK income, but pays tax abroad on foreign income.”

But asked where she paid tax abroad – in India or elsewhere such as the Cayman Islands – Kwarteng said: “I don’t know anything about her tax affairs.”

Kwarteng added that Murty and Sunak had been “very transparent” about her status, and that Sunak had declared it when he became a minister.

“The Treasury, the department which he works in, knows about all those affairs,” he said. “And there is a measure of transparency and he’s been very honest about that. And I think, as far as I’m concerned, that’s good enough for me. And I think we should move on from that story.”

Earlier, Kwarteng had told Times Radio that non-domicile status had existed in the UK “for more than 200 years”.

He said: “That’s something that’s been well established … I think there’s a lot of malicious attacks on someone who, after all, is a private citizen and is not a politician.”

Comments

Lord William Bentinck 3 year ago
Is this the corrupt person with the image of the typical charming crook, who we think might be the next Britain’s prime minister? When will we stop being impressed by crooks who speak well and begin to be impressed by decent politicians who DO well?
“Sir” Warren Hastings 3 year ago
Indians importing to the UK the corruption-culture UK previously exported to India…

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×