The United Kingdom’s finance minister, Rishi Sunak, who is the son-in-law of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, said on Sunday he has requested Prime Minister Boris Johnson for an independent review to determine whether he made ‘”appropriate declarations” of his finances “since first being appointed as ministers”.
His letter to Johnson comes at a time when a row is simmering over allegations linked to his wife Akshata Murty‘s taxes. “I have always followed the rules and I hope such a review will provide further clarity,” the 41-year-old UK minister said on Twitter.
Sunak has been facing heat over the latest allegations. His millionaire wife, Akshata Murty, according to reports, owns about 0.9 per cent of Indian IT giant Infosys, and has confirmed that she had non-domiciled tax status, meaning she did not pay tax on earnings from outside Britain, news agency Reuters reported.
However, her spokesperson told news agencies she pays all the tax that is legally required in the UK. “She has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income,” her spokesperson said.
“My overriding concern is that the public retain confidence in the answers they are given and I believe the best way of achieving this is to ensure those answers are entirely independent, without bias or favour,” Sunak wrote in the letter to the UK PM, stating he was confident that the review “will find all information appropriately declared” by him.
Earlier, Rishi Sunak faced questions over Infosys still operating in Russia, while he was calling for UK businesses to rethink their business in Moscow. At that time, Rishi Sunak said he had no role in Infosys and its decisions.
Analysts have been underlining how the revelation of Akshata Murthy’s tax status could not have come at a worse time as Rishi Sunak, once seen as a future prime minister, has seen his popularity sink because of the surging consumer prices.
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)
