Narayana Murthy's Daughter To Pay UK Tax As British PM Denies ‘Non-Dom’ Knowledge Amid Row

This came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he had been unaware she was a “non-dom” and fresh questions emerged over the couple’s tax affairs, The Guardian reported.

Akshata Murthy with British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak | File Image: AFP

New Delhi: British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, bowed last night to pressure to pay UK taxes.

This came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he had been unaware she was a “non-dom” and fresh questions emerged over the couple’s tax affairs, The Guardian reported.

Asserting that she appreciated the “British sense of fairness”, Murty said she realised many people felt her tax arrangements were not “compatible with my husband’s job as chancellor”.

The daughter of Infosys founder will now pay tax on all worldwide income in future and for the last tax year.

She, however, could not pay the tax on backdated income. This would save her an estimated £20m of UK tax on foreign earnings from her father’s Indian IT company.

The decision is, however, unlikely to stop the scrutiny of Sunak and Murty’s tax affairs and financial interests.

This comes amid calls from Labour and the Lib Dems for an investigation into whether Sunak has broken the ministerial code by failing to be transparent.

Earlier on Friday, Sunak was forced to confirm that he had a US green card, which means he had declared himself a “permanent US resident” for tax purposes for 19 months while he was the chancellor and for six years as an MP.

The Guardian reported a source close to the couple as confirming that Murty held a green card as well.

The disclosure though appears at odds with Sunak’s defence of his wife being a non-dom. He had earlier said that his wife intended to one day return to live in India.

This development takes place as the new laws specifically mention fund manager non-doms as a category of people, who can benefit by not having to pay tax on foreign earnings through the new vehicles.

Sunak, as per the Treasury’s claims, had made no changes to non-dom policy since 2017.

This, therefore, raises new questions over whether the Treasury was fully informed about Sunak’s family’s tax arrangements when formulating policy.

Earlier on Friday, Johnson admitted in a press conference that he had not been told about Murty’s non-dom status.

Lauding the chancellor for doing an “outstanding job”, he denied anyone at No 10 was briefing against the Sunaks.

Downing Street insiders, though, revealed that an away day this week descended into acrimony between No 10 and No 11 aides, over the source of the Murty leak and longstanding tensions over the Partygate scandal.

The revelations have prompted a political outcry over Sunak’s lack of transparency about his wife’s financial affairs.