Rishi Sunak’s billionaire heiress wife claimed non-dom status – allowing her to ‘save millions in tax on foreign earnings’

• Akshata Murthy, 42, claimed non-dom status to save millions in tax on income
• The Chancellor’s wife comes from an Indian family with assets worth £3.5billion
• Non-dom status means her permanent home is considered outside of the UK
• It also means that she does not have to pay any tax on income made abroad 

Rishi Sunak’s wife claimed non-domicile status to save millions on tax, it has been revealed. 

Akshata Murthy, 42, used the tax status as recently as April 2020, with sources telling the Independent it could have saved her millions in tax on foreign earnings.

While the Chancellor is a millionaire, his wife’s family business is believed to be worth around £3.5 billion. 

Non-dom status means her permanent home is considered outside of the UK and, although she is still liable for UK tax on income made in this country, she does not have to pay UK tax on foreign income unless it is brought into the UK.

A spokeswoman for Ms Murty said she has always paid UK taxes on her UK income. The non-dom status is lawful and it is also understood Ms Murty pays foreign taxes on her overseas income.

It comes amid a cost of living squeeze in Britain, with Mr Sunak accused of failing to do enough to help struggling families. 

Akshata Murty, who is believed to be worth hundreds of billions of pounds, held non-dom status. This means her permanent home is considered outside of the UK and, although she is still liable for UK tax on income made in this country, she does not have to pay UK tax on foreign income unless it is brought into the UK

It comes amid a cost of living squeeze in Britain, with Mr Sunak accused of failing to do enough to help struggling families

Reacting to the revelation, Labour said: ‘The Chancellor has imposed tax hike after tax hike on the British people.

‘It is staggering that, at the same time, his family may have been benefitting from tax reduction schemes.

‘This is yet another example of the Tories thinking it is one rule for them, another for everyone else.

‘Rishi Sunak must now urgently explain how much he and his family have saved on their own tax bill at the same time he was putting taxes up for millions of working families and choosing to leave them £2,620 a year worse off.’

A spokeswoman for Ms Murty confirmed she held non-dom status and said: ‘Akshata Murty is a citizen of India, the country of her birth and parent’s home.

‘India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously.

‘So, according to British law, Ms Murty is treated as non-domiciled for UK tax purposes.

‘She has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income.’

It is understood Mr Sunak declared his wife’s tax status when he became a minister in 2018, and the Treasury was also aware so that any potential conflicts could be managed.

Ms Murty is listed on LinkedIn as being director of capital and private equity firm Catamaran Ventures, gym chain Digme Fitness, and gentlemen’s outfitters New and Lingwood.

She is also reported to hold a 0.91% stake in Infosys, which was founded by her now billionaire father.

Infosys is closing its Moscow office after facing pressure to end operations in the country amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

Tech giant Infoysys is one of India’s largest companies and has a presence in about 50 countries.

It set up an engineering centre in Moscow in 2016 where it is thought that up to 100 people were employed.  

Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy are listed as ‘Wykeham benefactors’ in the magazine of the school – where he was head boy

Despite many global IT firms suspending operations in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, Infosys had kept what it has described as a ‘small team’ there until now, according to the BBC.

But in a recent statement, the company had said: ‘We do not have any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises.’ 

Mr Sunak and his wife Ms Murthy had faced questions over her shares in the firm, founded by her father NR Narayana Murthy. 

Labour and the Liberal Democrats had both called for Mr Sunak to answer questions over the issue.

In the Commons, a Labour shadow minister was forced to withdraw a claim that Mr Sunak was ‘hypocritical’ because of his family’s shares in the company.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘So far as the Chancellor’s wife is concerned, there’s just a fundamental principle, is their household benefiting from money made in Russia when the Government has put in place sanctions?’ 

However, Mr Sunak launched a defence of Akshata Murthy, likening himself to the actor Will Smith, who slapped Chris Rock for insulting his wife at the Oscars. 

He said that his wife was not ‘fair game’ and said the criticism of his wife had been ‘very upsetting’ following questions about her 0.91 per cent stake in Infosys.  

Rishi Sunak’s net score has dipped six points over the past week as a poll laid bare the political damage from the cost-of-living crisis

Sir Keir has however insisted that it was right to ask questions about her financial affairs.  The Ministerial Code states that ministers must declare all financial interests that could lead to a conflict, including ‘the Minister’s spouse or partner and close family’.  

It comes after it was revealed yesterday that Sunak and his wife gave more than £100,000 to top public school Winchester.

The Chancellor and Akshata Murthy are listed as ‘Wykeham benefactors’ in the magazine of the school – where he was head boy. 

The magazine for the school – which has annual fees of £43,335 a year or £14,445 a term – includes the Sunaks in a list of people ‘whose total donations to Winchester College (including pledges) are greater than £100,000’.

Mr Sunak has been accused of failing to do enough to help struggling families in his Spring Statement a fortnight ago.

He was branded an ‘illusionist’ after hailing his ‘tax-cutting’ moves, despite the burden being on course to reach the highest level since the 1940s. 

The government’s own watchdog has predicted that this year will see the biggest fall in disposable incomes since records began in the 1950s. 

There are claims Mr Sunak is already having to draw up a new support package, as he struggles to keep a lid on the UK’s £2.3trillion debt mountain and rising interest payments. 

He was also ridiculed for photo-ops after the mini-Budget, including posing putting fuel into a Kia Rio owned by a Sainsbury’s staff member.  

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