File photo dated 09/02/22 of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak alongside his wife Akshata Murty, as the Chancellor's family has been accused of "sheltering" itself from paying tax in the UK after it emerged his wife holds non-domiciled status. PA
File photo dated 09/02/22 of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak alongside his wife Akshata Murty, as the Chancellor's family has been accused of "sheltering" itself from paying tax in the UK after it emerged his wife holds non-domiciled status. PA
File photo dated 09/02/22 of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak alongside his wife Akshata Murty, as the Chancellor's family has been accused of "sheltering" itself from paying tax in the UK after it emerged his wife holds non-domiciled status. PA
File photo dated 09/02/22 of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak alongside his wife Akshata Murty, as the Chancellor's family has been accused of "sheltering" itself from paying tax in the UK afte

Rishi Sunak's allies ‘blame No 10’ for smears against his wife


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has defended his wife after it emerged she holds non-domicile tax status, amid reports that his allies have accused No 10 of being responsible for the revelation.

Mr Sunak said his wife Akshata Murty — who is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds — had done nothing wrong in choosing a financial arrangement that means she is not legally obliged to pay tax in Britain on foreign income.

He has blamed Labour for the “awful” smears against his family, but the Telegraph reported that unidentified allies of the Chancellor claimed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office was behind the leaks – an allegation Downing Street strongly denied.

“It is categorically untrue that No 10 is behind the briefings," said a Downing Street spokeswoman. “The Prime Minister and Chancellor are united.”

Mr Sunak told The Sun newspaper that Ms Murty was entitled to use the so-called “non-dom” arrangement as she is an Indian citizen and plans to move back to her home country to care for her parents.

The fashion-designer daughter of a billionaire married Mr Sunak in 2009 before he became an MP.

She is reported to hold a 0.91 per cent stake in Infosys, an IT business founded by her father, Narayana Murty, with The Guardian reporting that the share is worth £11.5 million ($15m) a year to Mr Sunak’s wife.

The paper also reported Ms Murty had avoided up to £20m in UK tax by being non-domiciled.

With Ms Murty born in India and her father also from the country, UK government rules allow her to list India, rather than the UK, as her permanent residence, meaning different tax rules on foreign earnings apply.

Mr Sunak said it was “unpleasant” to read attacks on his wife “especially when she hasn’t done anything wrong”.

“She hasn’t broken any rules. She’s followed the letter of the law,” Mr Sunak told The Sun.

He said his wife “pays full UK tax on every penny that she earns here in the same way that she pays full international tax on every penny that she earns internationally”.

Asked if he thought his family were victims of a “Labour smear campaign”, Mr Sunak said he did.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty arrive for the British Asian Trust Reception in London on February 9. EPA
Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty arrive for the British Asian Trust Reception in London on February 9. EPA

But Labour hit back, with a party source telling saying: “The Chancellor would do better to look a little closer to home.

“It’s clear that No 10 are the ones briefing against Rishi Sunak and, after his failure to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, you can understand why.”

Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that Mr Sunak could be guilty of “breathtaking hypocrisy” if his wife was reducing her own tax bill as the the chancellor increases national insurance for millions of Britons.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson avoided questions on Ms Murty’s tax situation, saying it was important to keep families out of politics “if you possibly can” when asked by broadcasters for his opinion.

Ms Murty confirmed her “non-dom” status after The Independent website first reported the arrangement on Wednesday, the day the 1.25 percentage point rise in national insurance took effect.

It means her permanent home is considered to be outside the UK despite the Sunaks living in Downing Street.

Ms Murty pays an annual levy of £30,000 ($39,000) to the UK government to keep her non-dom status, her spokeswoman said.

The status will automatically cease when she has lived in Britain for 15 years, which would happen in 2028.

Scoreline

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3

  • Agüero 18'
  • Kompany 58'
  • Silva 65'
Tour de France

When: July 7-29

UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland

Punchy appearance

Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

EU Russia

The EU imports 90 per cent  of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil. 

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE SQUAD

Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

Mountain%20Boy
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zainab%20Shaheen%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Naser%20Al%20Messabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

On sale: now

Updated: April 08, 2022, 8:30 AM