Sir Keir Starmer reveals how much tax he paid in UK – a day after Rishi Sunak did the same
Sir Keir Starmer paid £67,033 to HMRC in the last financial year, his tax returns show.
The Labour leader published the details after Rishi Sunak released his on Wednesday, following months of political pressure.
Sir Keir’s document shows he paid £67,033 in total tax for the 2021/22 financial year, and £51,547 the previous year.
It revealed that he made capital gains of £85,466 in the financial year 2021/22, on which he paid £23,930 in capital gains tax.
Notes made in the return said the capital gains tax reflected his share of the capital gains when his sister decided to sell a house he helped her to buy.
As leader of the opposition Sir Keir took home £126,154 in the same year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that he was “glad” to publish his financial affairs, which showed he paid £432,493 in tax in 2021/22.
That included £325,826 in capital gains tax and £120,604 in UK income tax on a total of £1.9m in the last tax year, the documents showed.
Sir Keir Starmer’s total income figures
Sir Keir welcomed the move by Mr Sunak and pledged to publish his own.
He would not comment on the contents of Mr Sunak’s, saying it is for “others to analyse”.
(L-R) Figures for 2020/21 and 2021/22
Following the release of Mr Starmer’s tax return, tax consultant Ray McCann told Sky News: “This is even less interesting than the prime minister!
“It is clear that both the prime minister and Sir Keir have provided only a summary and have not ‘published their tax returns’.
“The capital gains tax computation may also be abridged as there is no indication that he has utilised the annual exempt capital gains tax amount so the chargeable gain may be net of that.
“No charitable donations but I suspect that these may have been left out of the summary. Without a calculation of the tax, it is impossible to be sure.
“Otherwise fairly routine and would not give rise to any concerns.”
Dan Neidle, the founder of Tax Associates, said the details released by Mr Starmer were “slightly more interesting” than the prime minister’s.
He pointed out that the tax the Labour leader paid on the capital gains made from his sister’s house sale should have been £20,486, given he is entitled to a £12,300 allowance with the rest taxed at 28%.
Mr Neidle said it appears Mr Starmer actually paid £23,930 in capital gains tax because he chose not to use the allowance.
Mr Sunak said he had published his tax returns “in the interests of transparency, as I said I would, and I’m glad to have done that”, adding he did not think the public was that interested.
The publication of the Labour leader’s tax return comes after it was reported that he enjoyed a special “tax-unregistered” pension scheme meaning that the lifetime allowance did not apply to his contributions as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013.
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed rejected allegations that Mr Starmer was a hypocrite, telling Sky News: “It wasn’t Keir Starmer as Director of Public Prosecutions who set his own pension.
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“That was set by the Conservative government at the time so if people have problems with it they really need to speak to David Cameron and George Osborne,” he said.
A key part of Jeremy Hunt’s budget last week was his decision to abolish the lifetime allowance on pension savings, meaning people will now be allowed to put aside as much as they can in their private scheme without being taxed. The threshold had been £1m.
The Labour Party has pledged to reverse the plans if it wins power, calling it “a Tory tax cut for the rich”.
The party released analysis saying the policy proposed in Mr Hunt’s budget will save the wealthiest 1% of pensioners £45,000 when they retire.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sky News it was “the wrong priority” amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
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