Rachel Reeves said she was not aware previous chancellors had published their tax returns when she ruled out doing so. The Chancellor had initially said she had no plans to publish details of her taxes when asked about doing so on Wednesday. But the Treasury later indicated she would join Sir Keir Starmer in revealing how much she has paid in tax over the last year.
Asked why she initially ruled out publishing a tax return, the Chancellor told Times Radio: “I wasn’t aware that previous chancellors had released their tax return. “I’m very happy to release my tax return in accordance with what’s happened in the recent past, and I’ll be doing that alongside the Prime Minister in due course.”.
On Wednesday, Ms Reeves had told reporters: “Chancellors and prime ministers haven’t published their tax returns in the past, and I don’t have any plans to do so.”. The Prime Minister’s press secretary meanwhile told reporters Sir Keir would continue to publish his returns, as he had done in opposition.
Figures released in February 2024 showed Sir Keir paid £99,431 in tax after making £275,000 in capital gains. The release showed the Labour leader paid £44,308 in income tax in 2022/23. He also paid £52,688 in capital gains tax after the sale of a field in December 2022 partly owned by himself and partly owned by his father’s estate.
