Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Sep 11, 2026

Akshata Murty: Chancellor's wife could save £280m in UK tax

Akshata Murty: Chancellor's wife could save £280m in UK tax

Chancellor Rishi Sunak's wife could save herself £280m in UK tax thanks to a loophole created by a treaty between the UK and India dating from the 1950s.

Akshata Murty has "non-dom" status, meaning she does not have to pay UK tax on income earned abroad.

Non-dom status "wears off" after 15 years and the person is subject to all tax requirements of a UK citizen - including on their estate.

But there is an exception for Indian citizens around inheritance tax.

A technicality means that even if Ms Murty agrees to pay UK taxes on her worldwide income, but retains her non-dom status, she can still benefit from a provision in a 1956 treaty that was designed to stop Indian citizens being double-taxed on their estates in the UK and India.

Ms Murty earns money from shares in an Indian software giant founded by her billionaire father.

India abolished inheritance tax in the 1980s, but this tax exemption was never revoked.

So Ms Murty could have her estate taxed there at zero upon her death, rather than in the UK at 40% - saving £280m on her £700m stake in the company founded by her father.

Like her current reduced tax rate on her worldwide income - this would be perfectly legal, and HMT Treasury has said that the chancellor provided all relevant information on his interests when he became a minister.

Nevertheless, the very significant sums Ms Murty could have saved up to now - and may save in the future - pose some awkward questions for Rishi Sunak.

As Chancellor, Rishi Sunak has ultimate oversight of all fiscal matters in the UK. That includes regular reviews of the non-dom rules.

Reviewing rules which directly affect the financial arrangements of his own family members seems uncomfortable at best, a direct conflict of interest at worst. Others, including the chancellor's political opponents, have suggested that Mr Sunak should move his power over non-dom policy to another department.

On reported dividends of £11.5m from £700m worth of shares, Ms Murty would have paid tax at 39.5% as a UK citizen, which works out as £4.5m.

As an Indian citizen, the Indian government would tax dividends at 20% (a withholding tax). The UK government would tax the difference between that and the UK rate, or 19.5%. So Ms Murty saves £2.1m per year through her "non-dom" status.

She has also reportedly received income from companies based in Mauritius, which enjoys a more favourable tax treaty with India where the Indian government withholds just 15% of dividend income from Indian companies.

It is not known whether Murty holds these shares through a company based in a Mauritius or any other tax haven.

Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for "full transparency" from the chancellor over his family's finances.

A spokesperson for HM Treasury said: "The chancellor provided a full list of all relevant interests when he first became a Minister in 2018, as required by the Ministerial Code.

"The Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests has confirmed that they are completely satisfied with the steps the Chancellor has taken to meet the requirements of the Code."

To be clear, Akshata Murty is not accused of any wrongdoing whatsoever. But someone with preferential tax status living in Number 11 Downing Street does pose uncomfortable questions for the other adult resident.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Merz Rebukes AfD Expansion in Saxony-Anhalt
OpenAI Unveils GPT-6 and Says: "We May Already Have Reached AGI"
Congressman Accused Andrew of Sex Crimes in the United States
Donald Trump: "I'm Glad Harry and Meghan Left the United States"
Spicy Food Is Linked to Lower Death Risk — but It Is Not a Miracle Cure
AfD Enters Saxony-Anhalt Election at 41% in Historic Test for German Politics
Gen Z Turns to Investing as America's First-Home Dream Moves Further Out of Reach
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Give Ukraine Classified Storm Shadow Blueprints for Domestic Missile Production
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Plunge 45% to Lowest Levels on Record
Iranian Hackers Shut Down British Power Plant for Four Days in Landmark Cyber Attack
Novak Djokovic Reveals Relentless Self-Doubt and Rejects Retirement in New Documentary
Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Canadian Goods After Bilateral Trade Talks Collapse
Australia Combines Indigenous Fire Knowledge With Satellite Tech to Combat Catastrophic Wildfires
Father and Son Jailed in Scotland Over £900,000 Airport Cannabis Smuggling Operation
UK Fraud Reports Surge Sevenfold as Criminals Exploit QR Codes in Parking Meters and Phishing Emails
Brighton Thrash Aston Villa in Four-Goal Opening Half as Manchester City Trail Bournemouth
Erin Patterson Appeals Triple Murder Convictions After Hotel Mixed Sequestered Jury With Prosecution
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
×