“I’m honestly not sure Mr Speaker that the Prime Minister fully appreciates the anger that is out there over this injustice.The truth is that the United Kingdom is at the heart of the global tax avoidance industry, it’s a national scandal and its got to end”.
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British finance minister George Osborne on Monday (Apr 11) released details of his 2014/15 tax return after days of controversy around Prime Minister David Cameron’s finances following publication of the so-called Panama Papers.
Among those to have already done so are Labour’s former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, who published a scanned copy of his tax return for 2014-15, and ex-minister Caroline Flint who released figures for her total income and expenditure.
“The Prime Minister said it was right to “tighten the law and change the culture” to crackdown on evasion and aggressive avoidance”, but the government should “defend the right of every British citizen to make money lawfully”.
He said a number of public sector organisations, including trade unions and the BBC, had similar investment arrangements, describing them as a “standard practice and not created to avoid tax”.
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn declared just £1,850 of taxable income in 2014/15 over and above his parliamentary salary.
Mr Cameron said he was publishing the information to be “completely open and transparent” about his financial affairs.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said Mr Cameron thinks it is right for PMs, “potential prime ministers”, chancellors and shadow chancellors to “show greater transparency” by putting information about the taxes they pay into the public domain.
He also announced plans for a new law making firms criminally liable if their employees failed to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion.
“Such funds, including those listed outside the United Kingdom, are included in the pension funds of local government, most of Britain’s largest companies, and indeed even some trade unions”.
He also inherited £300,000 when his father died in 2010 but was also given two payments of £100,000 by his mother in May and July 2011 in an attempt to balance out the legacy left between the Prime Minister and his siblings.
David Cameron hit back in the Commons on Monday at “deeply hurtful and profoundly untrue allegations” against his late father in the tax affairs row.
Mr Cameron said he accepted the criticisms he received for not responding more quickly to the issues.
In light of Mr Cameron publishing his tax details together with the leaders of the Scottish political parties, pressure built up for others to follow suit.
“What they have driven home is what many people have increasingly felt; there is now one rule for the super-rich and another for the rest”.
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But fury on the Labour benches was stoked up when veteran backbencher Dennis Skinner was ejected for referring to the Prime Minister as “Dodgy Dave” and then refusing to withdraw the remark.
