Sunak is under pressure to ask questions about past US green cards

Sage Sunak is facing increasing pressure over his past U.S. residency and his wife’s alleged “conflict of interest” over taxes.

Sky News has been told that the chancellor and his wife held a US green card – allowing him to stay in the country – for more than a year at 11 Downing Street.

Green card holders must pay U.S. taxes on their global income and pledge that the United States is their permanent home.

A source close to Mr Sunak said he or his wife did not have a green card, but declined to say if they had it while he was chancellor.

Labor and the Liberal Democrats have called for him to be cleared.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davy said: “How can a person responsible for UK tax policy consider permanent residency to be acceptable to the United States?

“It would be a huge conflict of interest – and a serious violation of the ministerial code.

“Sage Sunak must be clear about his own finances and whether he has ever held a green card.

“If he doesn’t want to, we need an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this.”

Read more: Sunak says his wife is being stigmatized and he has done nothing wrong

Treasury Secretary Pat McFadden’s Labor shadow chief secretary said “there must be clarity on this green card question” and “it should come today”.

The issue added a sharp spotlight on Mr Sunak’s household arrangements when it was revealed this week that his multi-millionaire wife had “non-dom” status, reducing his tax bill.

The Chancellor is under pressure from a poorly received spring statement last month that critics say he has done little to address the crisis of life – and the poll says his popularity among voters is declining.

Then came a revelation about his বোর্ড 100,000 donation to his old boarding school, Winchester, which added a focus on his personal wealth and the statue of his multi-millionaire wife Akshata.

Having non-dom status enables Mrs. Murthy, the daughter of a billionaire tech boss of Indian descent, to reduce her tax liability – and that means her permanent home is considered outside the UK, despite Sunak living on Downing Street.

Ms Murthy, who owns a 0.9% stake in her father’s company Infosys worth millions of pounds, pays the UK government an annual levy of ,000 30,000 to maintain her non-dome status, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Labor’s shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, said Mr Sunak should not be involved in any decision to reform “non-dome” tax rules in light of the “obvious conflict of interest” presented by his wife’s status.

Mr Sunak, in an interview with Sanak Newspaper on his wife’s tax scrutiny, said: “It’s horrible for my wife to run after me.”

The chancellor won support in some quarters, with Energy Minister Greg Hands telling LBC that attention to Mrs. Murthy was “a little unpleasant.”

Tobias Elwood, a senior Tory backbencher who recently criticized the prime minister, also called for the attention to be diverted from the chancellor’s wife but told Sky News that the rules on non-dome status were “outdated” and needed to be reviewed.

‘It sounds weird – she’s been here eight years, she has kids, she lives in a taxpayer’s flat.’

Mrs Thornberry said: “There is a clear conflict of interest because the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for non-Dome rules.

“He has a wife who has made a positive decision to become a non-Dom, which means he does not pay tax on his worldwide income but only on his income in the UK.

“If you look at the details, sometimes it seems a bit strange – she’s been here eight years, she’s had a baby, she’s living in a taxpayer’s flat on Downing Street, but she’s not a permanent resident. That sounds weird.

“It simply came to our notice then.

“Was he involved in that discussion?” He shouldn’t have, and he should have declared that there is a conflict of interest. “

Mr Sunak told Sun that his wife had not done anything wrong or broken any rules, but had followed the letter of the law.

“He pays UK taxes on every penny he earns in the UK, of course he does,” he said.

“And the money that he earns internationally, for example in India, he has to pay full tax on it.

“That’s how the system works for people like him who are internationals who have moved here.”