Nadim Zahavi’s alleged £27 million “negligent” tax error has fueled days of Twitter jokes.
The Tory party chair is at the center of a media storm after it was revealed on Friday that he had to pay a fine to HMRC over unpaid tax last year, when he was chancellor (and therefore head of HMRC) under Boris Johnson.
Guardian And this BBC reported that Zahavi owed the tax along with a 30% penalty – totaling around £4.8 million.
The multi-million pound dispute has prompted speculation that Zahavi was trying to avoid paying taxes on a £27 million estate.
However, Zahavi himself has not confirmed the exact amount.
The cabinet minister said the mistake, linked to his shares in the polling company YouGov which he co-founded in 2000, was “careless and not intentional”.
PM Rishi Sunak has now asked his independent ethics adviser to look into Zahawi’s claims of having investigated his “compliance with the ministerial code” as “there were questions that needed to be answered”, adding that the cabinet minister ” had agreed to cooperate fully”.
Zahavi has said he welcomed the investigation and looked forward to “explaining the facts of the issue” to ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus.
He added: “To ensure the independence of this process, you will understand that it would be inappropriate to discuss this issue further, as I continue to carry out my duties as Chair of the Conservative and Unionist Party.”
But when top Tories have chosen not to discuss the matter further, Twitter is more than happy to brush the issue aside.
The jokes were…
Tweets of pure disbelief…
And loopholes for Sue Grey…
The senior civil servant, best known for probing Partygate last year, has faced a resurgence on Twitter amid these allegations.
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