UK PM Candidate Rishi Sunak Defends Wife Akshata Murthy

The United Kingdom Prime Ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak  said he is “incredibly proud” of his in-laws following media commentary about his wife Akshata Murthy’s family’s wealth.

Rishi Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and author and Infosys chairperson Sudha Murthy. During the debate, Sunak was questioned about the controversy surrounding his wife Murthy’s non-domicile status and taxes.

Murthy had a non-domicile status and did not pay taxes for her income outside Britain. Following the controversy, she said she would no longer avail of the non-domicile status and would pay taxes for her income outside Britain.

Rishi Sunak Defends Akshata Murthy And Her Family

Sunak addressed the commentary regarding his wife’s family’s wealth and said that the Murthy family and what they built was an inspiration for everyone. He said, “I’m incredibly proud of what my parents-in-law built”. Sunak spoke about his father-in-law Narayana Murthy and said he “came from absolutely nothing”. He added that he co-founded the information technology company Infosys with “a couple of hundred pounds that my mother-in-law’s savings provided him”.

Sunak also elaborated on the tax controversy surrounding his wife. He said that he is a normal UK taxpayer but since his wife is from another country, she is treated differently. Sunak said, “She explained that in the spring and she resolved that issue”.

Sunak described the story of his in-laws’ as an “incredibly Conservative story” and said he was proud of it. He added, “I want to ensure that we can create more stories like theirs here at home.”

Murthy availing the non-domicile status and not paying tax for her income outside Britain is legal. However, her avoidance of taxes was criticised for being hypocritical as Sunak was raising taxes for workers in Britain.

Sunak had previously called reports on Murthy about her family's wealth and her non-domicile status as "unpleasant smears". He said Murthy intends to return to India to take care of her parents, thus she had a non-domicile status. Sunak added that she paid the full UK tax for the income she earned in the UK and that she pays international tax for her income from India.

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