Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, paid £508,308 in UK tax on earnings of over £2.2m last year, according to his latest tax summary released by Downing Street. The document also showed that Sunak paid £163,364 in tax on a total income of £432,884 and £359,240 in tax on approximately £1.8m in capital gains from a US-based investment fund. This is the second time Sunak has disclosed his earnings since assuming office in October 2022.
The first disclosure, in March of the previous year, covered the three financial years prior, including the period before he became Prime Minister. This follows a commitment he made during his unsuccessful Tory leadership campaign in summer 2022. Records show that since 2019, Sunak has paid £1m in UK tax.
Sunak’s latest tax summary indicates an increase in both his earnings and total tax paid from the previous year when he paid £432,493 in UK tax on total earnings of around £1.9m. Sunak, who worked in finance before entering politics, is considered one of the wealthiest MPs in Parliament. His personal wealth has been a point of criticism by opposition parties.
Sunak’s income summary reveals that he earned a ministerial salary of £55,358 and an MP’s salary of £84,119. However, these figures are overshadowed by investment income of £289,422 and capital gains of just under £1.8m from a US-based fund managed blindly to avoid conflicts of interest.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also published his tax summary, showing he paid £117,418 in UK tax on total income of £416,605. Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, have a combined wealth estimated at about £529m.
Former lawyer and current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer disclosed his tax summary last year, revealing he paid £118,580 in UK tax on total earnings of £359,720 in the two financial years since he became Labour leader in 2020. It is expected that Labour will publish Sir Keir’s latest summary soon.
David Cameron was the first UK prime minister to publish a summary of his tax returns in 2016, followed by Theresa May during her campaign to be Tory leader in 2016. However, the two prime ministers who preceded Sunak, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, did not publish their tax returns.
