Analysis: Rishi Sunak's taxes warrant investigation but are part of wider problem

Rishi Sunak’s tax arrangements have sparked widespread condemnation, but very little in the way of action.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak

Downing Street has agreed to allow a report by Lord Geidt the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, but if you’ve been following politics at all you’ll know that’s not going to be worth the paper it’s written on.

The issue is not whether Mr Sunak broke the rules, because it doesn’t appear he did, it’s that those rules are unfit for purpose in the first place.

Mr Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty announced that she would pay UK taxes on her global income, claiming in a statement that she did not want the issue “to be a distraction for my husband”.

This is welcome, but the idea a billionaire heiress can live in a Downing Street flat paid for by the taxpayer and be able to choose whether or not to pay UK taxes is absurd.

Mr Sunak being able to hold a United States green card – granting him permanent residency in the US – for a period while he was Chancellor is even worse.

The affair is part of a wider problem with money in Britain and British politics that Boris Johnson could try and address, but won’t.

We have already seen questions about Russian money in politics dismissed as Russophobia, rather than legitimate questions about donors and access.

There will almost certainly be other MPs enjoying the same benefits as Ms Murty, with Sajid Javid already admitting he had non-dom status before being an MP.

Opening all this up, peeling back British tax law to create a fairer system with ministers declaring their tax affairs would fix inconsistencies and inequalities that could help deliver the Prime Minister’s levelling up agenda.

Instead Mr Sunak will be the poster boy for accidentally using a loophole, let off with a slap on the wrist and a leadership bid in tatters.

The defences have been laughable, Tory MPs stressing it’s 200 years of tax law, and closing it could deter people with money coming here.

Simply put there is money being earned by Brits who are able to avoid tax on it, and Mr Johnson should show courage and find a way to make sure everyone pays their share.