Rishi Sunak’s wife’s UK tax scandal divides Indians, with friends remembering Akshata Murty as ‘humble and simple’
- A furore over Murty’s tax status and the revelation that her husband once held a green card has led to PM Boris Johnson approving an ethics inquiry into Sunak’s financial affairs
- Peers remember Murty as ‘humble and simple’, never flaunting her wealth. Her father Narayana Murthy co-founded IT giant Infosys
As London-based Indian entrepreneur Akshata Murty, the wife of UK treasury chief Rishi Sunak, faces ongoing criticism of her non-domiciled tax status – entitling her to avoid paying UK taxes worth millions on her overseas income – reactions in her home country have ranged from support to censure.
Murty, whose father Narayana Murthy co-founded IT giant Infosys in 1981, is considered “richer than the Queen” for her 0.9 per cent stake (worth almost US$1 billon) in the company.
The 42-year-old was entitled to a dividend payment of about 11.6 million pounds (US$15.1 million) from the India-headquartered company last year. But non-domiciled tax status means she can benefit from a provision in a 1956 treaty that was designed to stop Indian citizens being double-taxed on their estates in the UK and India, the BBC reported.
While her tax arrangements are legal, the British public has been up in arms over the matter, given that her husband is Chancellor of the Exchequer. There will now be an inquiry into Sunak’s financial affairs and whether he had properly declared his interests.
The BBC reported that as a UK citizen, Murty would have paid tax of 39.5 per cent on the dividends. As an Indian citizen, the Indian government requires a withholding tax on dividends at 20 per cent. So if Murty had chosen UK tax domiciled status as an Indian citizen, the UK government would tax the difference between what she paid in India and what she would pay as a UK citizen.