The wife of British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is treated as non-domiciled for UK tax purposes, but pays taxes in Britain on all her UK income, her spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Akshata Murthy is the daughter of Narayana Murthy, the billionaire cofounder of information technology services company Infosys, and she owns about 0.93 percent of the company.
The tax status means she would not pay taxes in Britain on dividends from the Indian business.
Photo: Reuters
The news, which yesterday featured prominently in British newspapers, came as the government is putting up taxes for millions of people.
British lawmaker and Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq said that Sunak should say whether he had benefited from his wife’s tax status.
Akshata Murthy’s spokeswoman said that as a citizen of India, Akshata Murthy was treated under British law as non-domiciled for UK tax purposes because India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously.
Sunak, who became chancellor of the Exchequer in February 2020 just as the country entered the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing some of the toughest economic conditions in decades, with inflation soaring and living standards set to drop to levels last seen in the 1950s.
To help fund the rebuilding of the country’s national health service and its public finances, he has increased the tax take to the highest level since the 1940s.
“Akshata Murthy is a citizen of India, the country of her birth and parent’s home,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously.”
“She has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income,” she added.
A person familiar with the situation said Sunak had declared his wife’s status to the government when he became a minister and the UK Treasury was also informed.
The person who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter added that Akshata Murthy pays foreign taxes on her foreign income.
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