Angela Rayner’s tax row verdict leaves experts ‘mystified’ | Politics | News
Angela Rayner has been cleared by HMRC (Image: Getty)
Tax experts have questioned HMRC’s decision not to fine Angela Rayner for failing to pay stamp duty on a flat she bought. The former Deputy Prime Minister did not receive a penalty from the taxman after agreeing to pay £40,000 in unpaid levies on the Hove property. Tax lawyer Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said a report by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus had concluded that Ms Rayner was “careless” and he could not understand why HMRC had taken a different view.
He said: “The facts, as reported by the prime minister’s ethics adviser, were that she [Rayner] obtained advice from two sets of lawyers [on the purchase]. Both of them suggested she sought tax advice and she didn’t take tax advice at the time. That’s why the mistake was made. I said at the time, I thought that was careless. Her statement says HMRC have concluded [it] isn’t careless and are not charging a penalty. And I can’t explain why that is.”
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Speaking to Times Radio, he later added: “Our team doesn’t understand the ‘not careless’ finding. We’ve spoken to other senior lawyers, including a retired judge, and we’re a bit mystified.
“It is hard to see how a taxpayer, undertaking a complex transaction involving a court ordered trust for a disabled child and the purchase of a second property, and twice told to obtain specialist tax advice, can be said to have taken reasonable care by not doing so.”
Ms Rayner’s spokesman said that while HMRC’s investigation had decided that stamp duty was payable at the higher rate, it found that she acted with “reasonable care”.
He said: “HMRC concluded that she had not acted with any impropriety or carelessness and that accordingly no penalty is chargeable.”
But Sean Randall, an independent stamp duty tax expert, said that he found it “extraordinary” that HMRC had not fined Ms Rayner for failing to pay the right amount.
He said: “Penalties can be imposed in two scenarios. A deliberate error, which is akin to fraud, and a careless error, which is akin to negligence. It seemed to me that she was quite clearly careless. One conveyancing firm had warned she get specialist advice, and another firm had recommended it.
“They had some kind of intuition, correctly, that Rayner’s tax affairs might be more complicated by virtue of her circumstances and recommended or warned her to get tax advice.
“I think if you asked 100 people on the street, 99 would say she was careless by not heeding those warnings. But ultimately, it is HMRC who decides. I find it extraordinary she’s been found not to have acted carelessly.”
Ms Rayner announced on Thursday she had been cleared over the stamp duty row which triggered her resignation from the Government and had overshadowed her prospects of a potential Labour leadership run.
In a post on X, she said: “I welcome HMRC’s conclusion, which has cleared me of any wrongdoing. I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.”
She added: “I have always sought to act with integrity, and I believe politicians should be held to high standards – that is why I resigned from government and cooperated fully with HMRC.
“I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on – and that I can get on with my job.
Downing Street declined to comment on Ms Rayner’s announcement she has been cleared by HMRC, despite Sir Keir Starmer previously suggesting there was a path back to Government for her if she were exonerated.
A spokesman for HMRC said: “We cannot comment on individuals due to taxpayer confidentiality law.”
