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Rishi Sunak said the tax cuts he voted for in 2016 saved him more than £300,000 in taxes, the lawyer whose inquiry led to the dismissal of Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi said.
A tax summary prepared by Mr Sunak on Wednesday shows he has paid more than £1m in tax over the past three years at an effective tax rate of 22%.
But Dan Needle, a tax lawyer whose probe into Mr Zahawy’s tax arrangements led to the dismissal of the former prime minister, said Mr Sunak could pay another £308,167 if the Conservative Party does not cut the top capital gains tax (CGT) rate. I think I would have paid. Government 9 years ago.
As a result of HMRC’s treatment of CGTs from 2016, Mr Sunak paid a tax rate similar to what nurses pay in income tax.
Mr Needle said: I: “Mr. Sunak benefits from a lower tax rate on capital gains, just as he would if he were lucky enough to sell his shares for a profit.
“So it’s not about him. It’s about the tax system treating different types of income differently for no good reason, in a way that benefits the wealthy. Nigel Lawson said in 1988 We equalized income tax and capital gains tax rates, and it was a mistake to walk away from that.”
In 2016, the Conservative government lowered the top CGT rate to 20%, which Sunak supported.
Supporting the move in the House of Commons, Sunak said: .
“It is clear from our conversations with investors last week that these policies have permeated and created a new wave of enthusiasm for investing in UK companies.”
When Liz Truss failed to campaign to become Conservative leader last year, Sunak first said he would release tax returns.
He was asked to be transparent about his finances after his wife Akshata Murthy was revealed to be a non-resident. Around the same time, Mr. Sunak admitted that he had obtained permanent residency in the United States during his tenure as prime minister.
He returned his green card in October 2021, ahead of his first visit to the US as a UK government minister.
The tax accountant who exposed Nadim Zahawy’s tax problems that led to his sacking said he doesn’t think he has a ‘special interest’ in the prime minister’s tax bill, but believes he will pay a lower tax rate. The tax system that allowed for more than millions of people in the country questioned.
Tax experts also point out that, despite continuing to say that he released tax returns, in fact Sunak presented a “carefully crafted” tax position from an accountant.
Nimesh Shah, CEO of tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, said:
“If you just send the return itself, it’s open to interpretation from people like me and experts. What he did was set numbers and numbers are numbers and those are facts They’re really not that interesting.”