Angela Rayner made her first public appearance today in the heart of Downing Street amid a furious row about her tax affairs.
The Deputy Prime Minister made a statement at the first Cabinet meeting of the new parliamentary term by showing up in striking sunglasses, complemented by green flares and a cream double-breasted jacket.
And she was given a warm welcome by colleagues including Foreign Secretary David Lammy as she made her way into No10.
It came as tax experts suggested she may not have been eligible for a £40,000 stamp duty discount she received when she bought a lavish seaside home.
Angela Rayner, who also holds the position of housing secretary, paid a reduced stamp duty of £30,000 instead of the usual £70,000 on a second home when she acquired an £800,000 apartment in Hove earlier this summer.
She informed the relevant authorities that it was her only property, stating that she had relinquished her interest in a £650,000 home in Ashton-under-Lyne, which is her constituency, two months prior. Over the weekend, it was reported by The Mail On Sunday that she had divided the ownership with a trust managed by the law firm Shoosmiths.
The legal manoeuvre could be consistent with Ms Rayner placing some of the house’s equity in trust for her three children.
However, tax experts have pointed out that since two of her three children are still under the age of 18, the setup of the trust might mean she still holds an interest in it. This could potentially disqualify her from receiving the stamp duty discount on her flat.
Skepticism was further highlighted as tax experts hinted that the Deputy PM may not have qualified for the £40,000 stamp duty discount she claimed when purchasing her upscale seaside residence, due to the structure of the trust arrangement for her previous home.
She was given a warm welcome by colleagues including Foreign Secretary David Lammy as she made her way into No10
According to an expert speaking with The Times: ‘When there is a minor child who has an interest in property, especially in scenarios where a trust isn’t purely discretionary but provides a right to reside for life, typically called an interest in possession, it often results in parents being regarded as having an interest in the property themselves.’
‘Were this to be the case, Rayner would be required to pay the higher rate of stamp duty as the home in Ashton would still be attributed to her.’
There is no suggestion that Ms Rayner has broken the law and she has denied any wrongdoing.
Conservative MPs question whether the move was intended to avoid potential inheritance tax liabilities.
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the Deputy PM should ‘come clean on the litany of accusations of tax avoidance – be it stamp duty, council tax or inheritance tax’.
Ms Rayner is facing fresh allegations that while she said the Sussex flat was her main home, she told the Cabinet Office that her primary residence was her former family home in Greater Manchester.
When Parliament is sitting, Ms Rayner is thought to live mainly in a third property – a lavish grace-and-favour apartment in central London, funded by the taxpayer.
Yesterday Keir Starmer came to the aid of his embattled deputy as No10 insisted she wanted to reveal more about her property deals but was constrained by a court order.
Sir Keir told the BBC the former teen mum is a ‘great story of British success’.
‘Angela came from a very humble background, battled all sorts of challenges along the way, and there she is proudly – and I’m proud of her – as our Deputy Prime Minister’, he told Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said Ms Rayner is ‘urgently’ working on a way to give more details about her ownership of two homes ‘in the interests of public transparency’. The nature of the court order is not known.
A spokesman for Ms Rayner has said she had not broken any rules and had paid all relevant taxes.
The Deputy Prime Minister paid £30,000 instead of the full £70,000 rate levied on second homes when she purchased an £800,000 flat in Hove this summer
She had forfeited her interest in her £650,000 constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne two months previously, with The Mail On Sunday revealing she split the ownership with a trust administered by law firm Shoosmiths
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake (pictured) said the Deputy PM should ‘come clean on the litany of accusations of tax avoidance – be it stamp duty, council tax or inheritance tax’
She is said to have relinquished her stake in the Ashton-under-Lyne home before buying the Hove flat as part of the process of divorcing her former husband Mark Rayner.
Friends say this means she would not have been liable for the punitive rate of stamp duty on second homes.
Ms Rayner is also facing fresh questions after registering to vote in person in Hove despite electoral records showing she is already registered for postal votes in Westminster and her constituency.
But No10 said it was ‘quite common to be registered to vote in multiple places’.
