The ministers’ financial affairs came under scrutiny after The Independent revealed that Rishi Sunak’s wife had used her homeless status to reduce her tax burden in the UK, and documents indicate that the chancellor was registered as a holder of a trust held in tax havens. Health Minister Sajid Javid revealed that he had tax status abroad before becoming a politician. But when asked by the Independent, only five of Boris Johnson’s 22 cabinet members were willing to say they had no links to tax havens and had not used off-site tax breaks. Labor said ministers needed to be more transparent about their financial interests. “We need to know what arrangements the cabinet members have made for themselves. “And if there were such arrangements, how was it justified and how much tax was saved?” said Pat McFadden, shadow secretary general of the Treasury Department. “This is not a mechanism open to our voters, who have been facing the biggest pressure on their incomes for decades, exacerbated by the chancellor’s decision to impose income tax increases this year. “The least the public is entitled to is full information on how many conservative ministers who imposed these increases did not have a regime or used other mechanisms, including tax havens, to reduce their tax liability in the United Kingdom.” Homelessness and tax havens are both perfectly legal, but their use by ministers has been called into question as the government decided to impose the heaviest tax burden on British families since the 1940s. However, some ministers have decided to offer greater transparency to the public. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, along with their immediate family members, do not use tax havens to minimize their tax bills, sources close to them told The Independent. Nor have they used the non-dom scheme – a controversial system that has existed for hundreds of years and allows wealthy individuals to avoid paying tax in the UK on their income abroad. According to sources, Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi and his wife are not currently using the non-dom status. However, it is not clear whether they have historically used or continue to use tax havens. Meanwhile, George Eustice, the environment secretary, said in a television interview that he would never seek to become a non-dom. Separately, a government spokesman said: “All MEPs and peers are automatically considered to be resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes, by law. “According to the ministerial code, all ministers provide information on their tax affairs to the Council of Ministers and to the independent adviser on ministerial interests.” Questions about the financial affairs of the UK’s most powerful politicians came after the Independent revealed that Mr Sunak, the chancellor, had not disclosed the beneficial tax regime of his wife, Aksata Merti. Last week, The Independent also reported allegations that Mr Sunak had been named in 2020 as the beneficiary of a tax haven set up to manage the interests of Mrs Murty’s family, which a spokesman said the couple did not recognize. The same spokesman did not respond when asked if Mr Sunak had set up his own trust in a tax haven. In a bid to draw a line under the controversy, Mr Sunak asked Lord Gad, the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, to reconsider all his statements since taking office in 2018. 10 said an inquiry would be conducted by Lord Geidt on Monday, but insisted Mr Johnson had “full confidence” in the chancellor. Ministers are required to declare the interests of their spouses, as provided in the code in which they sign when taking office. The decision on whether or not this information is made public by registering it in the ministerial register of interests is less clear. The rules allow ministers to place their shares and certain other financial interests in blind trust. This is the position adopted by the chancellor. However, there is no legal or technical definition of what constitutes blind trust or its management. Many cabinet ministers have had successful careers in the financial services industry, including Mr. Sunak, who before entering politics worked for and before the Cayman Islands-based investment firm – a tax haven – and before that. The Children’s Investment Fund Management, which is also registered there. Some investment companies choose to rely on tax havens, as they facilitate the avoidance of so-called double taxation – the idea is that it is easier to serve a suite of global investors if each pays only a set of taxes under their own jurisdiction, an offshore investment fund. There are other reasons, however, for which funds or individuals choose to use tax havens. These may include the significant tax benefits that come from using offshore trusts, such as avoiding inheritance or capital gains tax, as well as the important secrecy provided by many tax havens jurisdictions. Last Sunday, Mr Javid, also a former financial services professional, shared a statement confirming that he was a non-dom and that, before entering parliament in 2010, he had set up a foreign bank, which now has dissolved. A spokesman declined to say what the trust was based on, but The Independent said it was not in the Cayman Islands, where some of his other financial interests were based. “It is clear that Sajid Javid has to answer serious questions about his previous tax regime and how this was justified,” said Labor’s McFadden. While working as a banker, Mr. Javid joined the Dark Blue Investments, an employee benefit trust in which staff received bonus bonuses through a trust to avoid taxes. The Supreme Court ruled that these bonuses should be taxed. Experts have disputed Mr Javid’s use of the non-dom status, as he was born in the United Kingdom and should therefore state that he did not intend to live in the country for the long term. Jacob Rees-Mogg, Brexit Minister for Opportunities, has listed his stake in Somerset Capital Management Limited, an investment firm based in the Cayman Islands, in the MPs’ register of interests. A representative of Alok Sharma could not be reached for comment.
