Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, paid £508,308 in tax on earnings of £2.2m last year, according to his latest tax summary. The document, published by Downing Street, revealed that Sunak paid £163,364 in tax on a total income of £432,884, as well as £359,240 in tax on around £1.8m in capital gains from a US-based investment fund. This is the second time Sunak has published details of his earnings since taking office in October 2022.
The latest tax summary shows that both Sunak’s earnings and total tax paid have increased from last year, when he paid £432,493 in UK tax on total earnings of around £1.9m. Sunak, who had a career in finance before entering politics, is thought to be one of the wealthiest MPs in Parliament. This has made him a target for opposition parties, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accusing him of being “out of touch” and resorting to “the politics of envy”.
Sunak’s income in the latest summary includes a ministerial salary of £55,358, an MP’s salary of £84,119, investment income of £289,422, and capital gains of just under £1.8m from a US-based fund. He also earned £3,985 in interest on bank savings. Separately, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt published his own tax summary, showing he paid £117,418 in UK tax on total income of £416,605, including £27,370 in rental income from a commercial investment property.
Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, whose father co-founded Indian IT giant Infosys, have a combined wealth estimated at about £529m, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer published his own tax summary last year, revealing that he had paid £118,580 in UK tax on total earnings of £359,720 in the two financial years since becoming Labour leader in 2020.
It is understood that Labour will publish Sir Keir’s latest summary, covering the last financial year, in the coming days. David Cameron became the first UK prime minister to publish a summary of his tax returns in 2016, following revelations about his late father’s offshore fund. Theresa May released her tax return during her campaign to be Tory leader in 2016, but did not do so while she was prime minister. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, the two prime ministers who preceded Sunak, did not publish their tax returns.
