Sunak Asks BoJo for Probe Into His Financial Affairs Amid Row Over Tax Status of Chancellor's Wife

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has called for a government investigation into whether all his interests were "appropriately declared" amid a scandal over his spouse's "non-dom" status.

In a letter to Boris Johnson on Sunday, Sunak asked the British prime minister to refer him to Lord Christian Geidt, the PM's adviser on ministers' interests, "given the recent speculation around" the chancellor's "ministerial declarations".

"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", the chancellor's letter reads.

Sunak tweeted shortly after writing the letter that he had "always followed the rules" and that he hopes "such a review" by Lord Geidt "will provide further clarity" on his declarations of interests.

According to Sunak, Geidt's probe will stipulate a review of all his declarations since he became a minister in 2018.

The document came as the Cabinet Office said that Geidt had already confirmed he was "completely satisfied with the chancellor's propriety of arrangements", arguing that Sunak had followed the ministerial code "to the letter".

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, however, insisted in her own message to Geidt that given recent "jaw-dropping revelations", it was "staggering" to suggest that Johnson's ethics adviser had given due attention to concerns over Sunak's tax arrangements.

Rayner said that the details of the Sunak family's tax affairs should have been made publicly available on the register of ministerial interests.

"This information was pertinent to the development of tax policy across the Treasury and therefore there was good reason to declare this information more widely across relevant policy teams", she stated, adding that the public should be informed about whether Sunak has ever benefited from the use of tax havens.

She also asserted that Sunak holding a US green card while UK chancellor poses "serious conflicts of interest" with his ministerial duties.

Sky News quoted unnamed sources as saying that there would be a Downing Street response on both letters in the coming 24 hours.

Sunak in Hot Water Over His Tax Arrangements

Sunak is facing questions after it was revealed that his multi-millionaire wife Akshata Murty does not pay income tax on foreign earnings due to her non-domicile status.

Murty owns a 0.93% stake in the world's fastest-growing tech firm, Infosys, and received about $15 million as an annual dividend. UK resident taxpayers pay a 38.1% tax on dividend income. So-called "non-dom" status means that Sunak's wife legally does not have to pay taxes in the UK on income earned outside Britain.

Over the weekend, Murty released a statement saying she would now pay UK tax on her worldwide income because she did not want the issue to become a "distraction" for her husband.

As for Sunak, he is also under pressure over why he continued to hold a US green card 18 months into his role in Number 11, and claims that he has been listed as a beneficiary of tax haven trusts linked to his wife in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

A spokesperson for Sunak claimed that "all laws and rules have been followed and full taxes have been paid where required in the duration he held his green card".