(Bloomberg) — The UK’s Conservative party has called for an investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s tax affairs after she reportedly saved tens of thousands of pounds in stamp duty on a new apartment.
The Tories have called on Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s independent ethics adviser, to probe whether Rayner broke the ministerial code by failing to be transparent about her tax arrangements, according to a letter by party chair Kevin Hollinrake Friday evening.
The Telegraph reported that Rayner saved £40,000 ($54,000) in stamp duty after telling tax authorities that a new flat she bought in Hove, East Sussex, was her main home. The Labour minister previously said that her main residence is in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, but that she ceased to own a stake in the property after her divorce.
However, in removing her name from the deeds of her family home, she has avoided paying the £70,000 levy that would’ve applied if Hove had been her second home, according to the Telegraph. Rayner also occupies another apartment in London — a residence provided by the government to senior ministers.
“I believe the ministerial code has been breached, and her tax affairs are not in good order. This directly engages her conduct as a minister,” Hollinrake said in the letter.
The Conservative party also raised concerns over the Cabinet Office paying the council tax on Rayner’s London home. It has written to Tameside Council, calling for Rayner to be struck off the electoral roll there on the basis that she does not reside there.
A spokesperson for Rayner, who didn’t immediately respond to a request from Bloomberg News for comment, told the BBC earlier that “the deputy prime minister paid the relevant duty owing on the purchase of the Hove property in line with relevant requirements and entirely properly, any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”
Rayner also serves as housing secretary under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
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