Tax lawyer who brought down Nadhim Zahawi says ex-Labour chairman also has questions to answer

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The former Labor Party chairman has been questioned by tax authorities after receiving a payout of around £140,000 and an amortization loan from unions.

Ian Lavery, Member of Parliament for Wandsbeck, Northumberland, said: I An HMRC inquiry into his tax affairs determined that “no further evaluation was necessary”, but repeated questions about whether he had declared all payments and loans from the National Union of Miners of Northumberland (NUM). did not answer the question.

Lavery, who led a small chapter of the NUM before becoming an MP, benefited from these arrangements from 2007 to 2013.

Tax attorney Dan Needle, who has received legal threats after he began questioning Nadim Zahawy’s tax arrangements, is now asking Ravelry to clarify his discussions with HMRC.

Neidle said: This is a very simple question and requires a simple answer. ”

Mr Lavery claimed his tax was up to date, but confirmed that he had been subject to what he called a “desktop review” of his tax by HMRC.

After becoming a Member of Parliament in May 2010, Mr Rabery initially received a tax-free severance pay of £60,600 from the NUM branch, where he had been General Secretary for eight years.

Northumberland NUM subsequently recognized an overpayment of £30,600 in respect of staff reductions. Mr Lavery returned his £15,000 but not the rest of his £15,600, so in total he retained £45,600.

In October 2017, the Trade Unions and Employers Association Certificate Authority reported on allegations of financial misconduct within Northumberland NUM.

The severance pay is tax-free up to £30,000, but the certification authority said it had no documentary evidence that Ravery had taken the severance process.

Northumberland NUM has written off loans to Mr Ravery for a total of £91,545. The money is believed to have been used to pay off Mr. Raberry’s mortgage.

Meanwhile, Ravelry said: I Noting that his tax affairs are up to date, he also confirmed that he was subject to HMRC’s investigation of his tax affairs shortly after the report from the certification authority was completed.

The report states: This resulted in Mr. Ravelry being dismissed.

“Neither was able to do so and said no such documentary evidence existed.”

Ravelry, who succeeded union agitator Arthur Scargill as NUM president in 2002, said: Indeed, following earlier press speculation, HMRC’s recent desktop review of tax returns found no further assessment needed. ”

Ian Lavery refused to answer tax questions

You received £60,600 from Northumberland NUM in tax-free retirement in May 2010 and at the same time became a Wansbeck MP. NUM then realized that you took his £30,600 overpayment and refunded £15,000.

Have you claimed the remaining £15,600 overpayment on your tax return?

Did you pay tax on the £15,600 overpayment?

In October 2017, the Trade Unions and Employers Association Certificate Authority reported on allegations of financial misconduct within Northumberland NUM. The findings in paragraph 18 of that report state that there is no documentary evidence to support the termination process going on with you. In the absence of termination proceedings, all payments made to you by Northumberland NUM should have been declared to HMRC as income.

Did you declare the full amount?

Did you pay tax on this amount?

It also received a loan of £91,545 from NUM. These were later he canceled by NUM. These loans became taxable income as soon as they were written off.

Were these loan deductions on your tax return?

Did you pay tax on the full amount of £91,545?

Many of the loans were interest-free or offered at below-market interest rates.

Have you declared an interest-free loan as a benefit-in-kind to HMRC?

Have you declared loans extended to HMRC at below market rates?

Seeking further clarification, I When asked if Lavery had declared all amounts related to severance payments and loan write-offs to HMRC, he repeatedly refused to answer.

MP added:

Mr Nidle said: I hope it all goes away. Like Zahawi, he will be disappointed.”

A partner at a large tax advisory firm said I: ‘Union officials expect to keep documents on his dismissal. He received a total of £45,600, with no apparent tax credit. It’s irregular.”

The expert, who believes Mr Lavery should have paid around £70,000 in connection with severance payments and loan write-offs, added:

“These loan write-offs are taxable income and can be assessed based on his own personal tax returns. you should be able to see if

“Many of these loans were interest-free or below market interest rates, so Mr Raberry also needs to check whether the in-kind benefits were correct.”

Zahawi was sacked by Rishi Sunak after the prime minister’s ethics adviser confirmed he had committed a “serious violation” of a ministerial order after failing to declare an HMRC investigation into his tax affairs. .

Mr Zahawi said he made a mistake in not declaring income of around £27m to HMRC and paid the tax authorities an estimated £5m following his financial investigation.

Labor has not answered questions about Mr Lavery’s payments from the NUM and what will happen to Mr Keir Starmer if it turns out that one of the MPs failed to declare all the income he was due to HMRC? did not comment on

Ravelry’s answer to tax question is ‘not good enough’

Dan Needle

Did Ian Lavery MP pay tax on the £140,000 payment he received from his former union?

He said the tax returns were all completed correctly, but declined to comment on specific questions about those payments.

This is the same answer I received from Nadhim Zahawi in July, but it is not sufficient.

The Trade Unions and Employers Association Certification Authority reported on financial fraud in Northumberland NUM in 2017.

Mr. Lavery received “severance pay” when he was not fired as a legal matter. He left the union for becoming his MP. He also received his £91,545 loan write-off, which is very unusual for an employee.

There was also a strange arrangement in which the union compensated for non-compliance with endowment policies in which Mr. Ravery and his wife (not the union) had invested.

The union (in the words of the Certification Authority report) “in effect bought a stake in the general secretary’s house.” This is also contrary to normal commercial and trade union practice.

As far as I know, no justification for these arrangements has been provided. Let others judge the appropriateness of the arrangement and focus on the tax consequences.

Experienced accountants say loan write-offs and “redundant payments” should have been fully taxable. Agree.

Due to the unusual and non-commercial nature of YouGov and Balshore’s structure, I suspected that Mr. Zahawi did not pay all taxes, and I was right.

The unusual and non-commercial nature of the payment to Mr. Lavery raises the same question.

Dan Needle is Tax Policy Associates Known for clarifying tax issues surrounding Conservative Party Chairman Nadim Zahawi