Jeremy Hunt vows to pay more capital gains tax on his properties

Jeremy Hunt has made a commitment to pay an additional amount of capital gains tax on his properties. This decision was made to ensure that he does not receive any benefit from a tax reduction that he had initiated.

The person in charge of the government's finances declined to reveal the number of homes he possessed, but affirmed that he would give a greater percentage of the earnings if he sold any of his real estate.

During the airing of the Peston programme on ITV last Wednesday, Hunt received a question about the number of houses he owned. However, he responded that the inquiry was of a personal nature and did not provide an answer.

During the budget announcement on Wednesday, Hunt took a dig at Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour party, who had faced inquiries regarding her previous council house sale, whilst announcing a decrease in the capital gains tax. He intentionally pointed out Rayner's multiple dwellings to attract her attention.

Hunt lowered the percentage of capital gains tax that must be paid by those who pay a higher tax rate when they sell a second home. The rate was reduced from 28% to 24%.

When questioned about whether he would personally profit from the proposed change to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Hunt stated to Peston that it would not affect him. He explained that he had made a conscious decision not to benefit from any direct decisions made regarding the properties he owns. Therefore, he would continue to pay tax at the previous rate and even voluntarily pay 28% CGT if he were to sell any of his properties.

When asked about the number of houses he owned, Hunt refused to give a specific answer. He had previously made a joke about selling Angela Rayner's home during a meeting in the House of Commons. However, when pressed for an explanation, Hunt clarified that he was simply teasing Rayner and that all of his property holdings were properly declared.

Based on the ministerial register of interests, Hunt and his spouse possess Mare Pond Properties Limited, a company that holds properties. His interests in the parliament indicate that this encompasses seven flats located in Southampton.

The head of government finances also has partial ownership of a vacation home in Italy and an office building in London, as per his official statements. The register documenting his ministerial responsibilities affirms that a portion of his earnings from his "property investment for residential purposes" goes towards charitable causes.

Downing Street has recently announced that the Prime Minister excluded himself from the discussions involving the elimination of non-dom tax status to prevent any potential conflicts of interest.

Akshata Murty, the wife of Rishi Sunak and the daughter of the founder of the Indian IT company Infosys, is a UK resident who is not domiciled in the country. This means that she is not required to pay taxes in the UK for income earned outside of the country. Additionally, Murty holds shares in Infosys.

Following the discovery of her non-domiciled tax position during Sunak's time as chancellor, Murty stated that she would choose to pay taxes in the UK for all income earned globally.