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Well, this has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons. Lord Moylan has encountered the wrath of the British public this weekend, after he argued that paying as little tax as possible serves as a ‘moral responsibility’.
The controversial comments drew a backlash online. Moylan, who is a Conservative peer in the House of Lords, also stated that ‘families must come first’ when it comes to deciding how much tax an individual should pay.
“It’s the clear moral responsibility of all taxpayers to pay as little tax as the law allows. Family comes first.”
Lord Moylan
The top Tory has made these comments in the wake of a tax row that has rocked the Chancellor’s Office. Akshata Murty, wife of Rishi Sunak, was found to be enjoying ‘non-dom’ status for her overseas assets, excusing her from paying dues to HMRC.
It’s estimated that this loophole saved Murty around £2.1 million in tax each year. She has since agreed to make payments to the Inland Revenue, saying that she does not want the non-dom issue to serve as a distraction for her husband.
Lord Moylan has since doubled-down on his tax-paying claims. He clarified his contentious musings, by saying that no-one ‘should pay any more than they are legally required to do so’. The jury remains out on this one…
“Huge agitation has been provoked by this clear and simple statement of a moral obligation everyone in practice recognises. So far only two respondents have fessed up to voluntarily paying more tax than required by law. Two. The rest are just blowing hot air.”
Lord Moylan
