Rishi Sunak held green card while made chancellor meaning Tory bigwig was permanent resident in US
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy reportedly held US green cards allowing permanent residence there, while he served as chancellor.
It was reported he obtained it while living there before becoming an MP, and continued to hold it when he moved back to the UK, for at least a year of his chancellorship which started in early 2020.
A source close to the couple, who own a multi-million pound villa in California. told the Guardian “they do not currently have green cards”, but holding the card means they would have to “make the US your permanent home”. Green card holders must pay tax on all their income worldwide.
This comes after the embattled chancellor faced mounting criticism due to his wife’s tax affairs, after claims she has evaded paying millions a year, because she has non-domicile status.
Murthy is the heiress to her billionaire father’s business, Infosys, which she gets roughly £11.5m annually from in dividends.
Sunak hit back at critics this week in an interview with the Sun, insisting they were political “smears” against him and she had done nothing wrong.
He also said his wife paid “every penny” she owns on earnings in the UK, and pays tax on money she has “internationally”, including in her native India.
When approached for comment the Internal Revenue Service in the US said it cannot respond to or speculate about individual cases due to federal law.
Rishi Sunak has been asked for comment.