Angela Rayner admits she did not pay enough stamp duty on second home
Angela Rayner has admitted she did not pay enough stamp duty on her second home and has considered resigning.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that she has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards.
Ms Rayner said she had received inaccurate tax advice and had spoken to her family about quitting.
The Housing Secretary has been under intense pressure over her tax affairs after media reports about her purchase of a flat in Hove.
“In shock”
She was reported to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the flat because she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, meaning the Hove property is the only property she owns.
She told Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast : “I’ve been in shock, really, because I thought I’d done everything properly, and I relied on the advice that I received and I’m devastated because I’ve always upheld the rules and always have felt proud to do that.
“That it is devastating for me and the fact that the reason why those confidential clauses were in place was to protect my son, who, through no fault of his own, he’s vulnerable, he’s got this life-changing, lifelong conditions and I don’t want him or anything to do with his day-to-day life, to be subjected to that level of scrutiny.”
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Any other industry and the accredited, regulated and licensed professional would be liable for incorrect advice.
It seems that almost all politicians are up to all sorts of dodging and dealing for their own good and have all the excuses ready-made just in case they get caught. The alternative is to resign only to get a better paid job in government a few weeks later. God help the ordinary man in the street if he or she did the same. The law, which goes hand in hand and big friends with politicians and government and play golf with each other at weekends would come down like a ton of bricks on us. The law, police and… Read more »
I will forever bless Angela Rayner for being, by origin, one of us – the people – and getting to where she is BUT her unforgivable naivety has handed victory to our eternal oppressors and it may well result in the next UK General Election being held in May 2026 (by design) to eradicate the meaning of those elections due to be held in Scotland & Wales. Thanks Ang. There are lawyers and there are ‘lawyers’. It sounds like you got the wrong ‘uns.
IF She really did not realise that she had done anything wrong and had naively acted on advice given then she has made an error of judgement that raises the question of her ability to do her job. Ironically if she is prepared to take responsibility for her error of judgement and is prepared to offer her resignation then she shows that she is that rare type of politician who has a sense of duty and Perhaps we would be better off having more like her in politics. Bit of a catch 22.
Am pretty sure when you enlist a solicitor to conduct conveyancing they advise you on your liability to stamp duty and this depends on what you tell them, honestly, of what is your primary abode. They do not guess it. You have to confirm and sign the form. She knew what she was doing.
Where Rayner failed is quite simply not moving the address on her bills to the Hove address and her dentist /doctor to Hove and splitting her possessions between the properties. etc. Presumably she does occupy the property for part of time, a London address for part of the time and her child’s property part of the time and then the issue is not black and white, but complicated even more than it already is.
Remember there is a difference between being careless or being deliberate in tax matters.
They are so up themselves that they think we are all uneducated and stupid and think that we’ll believe anything they say.
It does actually sound like a genuine c**k up although it doesn’t look good. Obviously she has complex accommodation needs and responsibilities providing for her disabled child by a trust. The other point is that MPs do have the problem of needing two homes one in the constituency and one in the capital. It is time some reasonable arrangement is devised whereby the second home is properly funded for the duration of the time in Parliament.
How can it be a “genuine c**k up”. Did she not know where she was living? Brighton is a long way from Stockport.
Obviously the rules could be simpler and less ambiguous, but how would ex-Revenue officials enjoy a lucrative second career navigating the super wealthy through the tax minefield they helped lay?
Ms Rayner. You are not the only person that has ‘family matters’ to consider. If anyone else had pulled that dodge then HMRC would come down like a ton of bricks. Not only were you wealthy enough to be above the stamp duty threshold, but you actively avoided the exposure. She should hand over the cash owed, with interest, and resign. I wonder if other Labour MPs or MSs have pulled this one? We have a few parachutes here in Wales with owned property having been sold elsewhere, of value also well above the threshold.
She should also be summoned to court for breaking the law. Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law …… but I think that may only apply to the little people.
Now this is really poor. If she’d told the truth at the start then she might have got away with it. Now, her position looks untenable.
The problem Rayner has come a cropper on really should not happen, perhaps all government ministers should be advised by HMRC prior to completing any large property purchase (second job, tax return) to ensure they stick to rules or are truly aware of the moral position if using a tax avoidance device (tax avoidance is not illegal tax evasion is). Remember Rayner has paid stamp duty but probably was due at a higher rate.
I do not understand why government ministers should have special treatment. They are already surrounded by advisors and staff (paid from the public purse) that the rest of us don’t have access to. When it is now almost impossible for the general public to speak to HMRC about anything, I do not believe ministers should be given special privileges. If tax law is too complicated for them to understand, they have it in their collective power to simplify things. Unfortunately, budget after budget, they introduce more complexity.
Resign! You knew what you were doing.
Are you working for the Cons or Reform?