Four things to know about Rayner’s stamp duty dodge in four minutes ...Middle East

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has come under fire this week after it was reported that she avoided paying stamp duty on a second home.

The Housing Secretary admitted on Friday night that she saved £40,000 in stamp duty when she bought a flat in Hove, Sussex for £800,000 by first removing her name from the deed of her primary residence.

The changes meant she could avoid paying the rate of £70,000 required for a second home purchase, and instead handed over only £30,000 to HMRC.

The stamp duty furore — whilst not illegal — has raised eyebrows from critics and even some of Rayner’s own colleagues.

Critics have accused her of “hypocritical tax avoidance by a minister who support higher taxes on family homes, high-value homes and second homes”.

The Deputy Prime Minister currently has three residences.

Her family home in Ashton was bought in 2016 for £375,000, but the price of the four-bedroom house has since rocketed to more than £650,000, according to Land Registry documents.

Rayner also benefits from a ‘grace and favour’ flat in Admiralty House near Trafalgar Square. Such properties are owned by the government but leased rent-free to a person as part of their employment.

The Housing Secretary’s new property is a seaside flat in Hove.

There was further confusion over the Rayner’s properties on Friday night when the Land Registry confirmed to The Times that the application documents “do not appear to support the claim that she “removed her name from the deeds”.

This has fuelled calls for the Deputy Prime Minister to fully disclose information about tax affairs relating to her homes.

Referred to the ethics committee

Rayner has now been referred to the Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, by the Tories who have labelled her behaviour “unethical”.

The Tory party chairman has referred the Deputy Prime Minister to Sir Laurie, and he will come to a decision as to whether to launch an investigation in the coming days.

In his request for an investigation into Rayner’s behaviour, Kevin Hollinrake suggested that Rayner had breached ministerial code requirements to have her tax affairs in good order.

He wrote: “As you will be aware, as part of the Ministerial Interests regime, Ministers are asked to confirm that their tax affairs are up to date and that the arrangement of their affairs is consistent with their overarching duty to comply with the law”.

Hollinrake further suggested that Ms Rayner should no longer have a say in government decisions regarding council tax on second homes, and should also start paying council tax on the London flat.

DO AS I SAY…. Angela Rayner says Tameside is her “main home” so taxpayers cover her Admiralty House council tax…But told HMRC her £800k Hove pad is her main home to dodge a £40k stamp duty bill.Integrity? Ministerial Code? Nowhere to be seen. #RaynerScandal pic.twitter.com/oj5OoPEHhx

“She is paying second homes council tax to Brighton and Hove council on a property that she tells HMRC is not a second home. This may be lawful, but it is inappropriate tax avoidance for a minister subject to higher standards of conduct”, he added.

Whilst Deputy Prime Minister, Rayner has insisted that her home in Greater Manchester is her main residence.

By doing this, she has not been required to pay the £2,000 council tax on the London flat. Instead, this is paid by the Cabinet Office.

Despite removing her name from the deed of her Ashton home, Rayner has told Tameside council in Greater Manchester that the house is her primary residence, and the Hove flat is a second home for council tax purposes.

This means that she pays the council tax surcharge — double the normal rate — on the seaside flat.

Reaction from Labour MPs

Some Labour MPs have been privately complaining that the news of Rayner’s stamp duty dodge has put them in a tricky position.

According to the Daily Telegraph, one said: “It really doesn’t look good. For ordinary people who are struggling, it doesn’t correspond to how people live their lives”,

Publicly, however, Rayner’s colleagues have come out to defend her.

Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said yesterday that the Housing Minister had done ‘absolutely nothing wrong’.

square ELIOT WILSON

The Tories would never get away with Angela Rayner's hypocrisy - she should resign

Speaking to LBC, Kinnock said: “The Deputy Prime Minister has made it absolutely clear she’s done absolutely nothing wrong. I do wonder sometimes about some of the newspapers out there that just seem to be constantly looking to dig out stories.”

The MP for Aberafan Maesteg added: “She has complied with the letter of the law and that is the situation as we find it today.”

On Friday night, Downing Street insisted that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had confidence in Rayner.

In a statement, Rayner’s spokesman said on Friday night: “The Deputy Prime Minister paid the relevant duty owing on the purchase of the Hove property in line with relevant requirements and entirely properly. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”

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