Investigation Launched Against Angela Rayner Regarding Questionable Tax Matters
In a series of developments, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has stepped down from her roles as Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary, and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The decision comes after an investigation into her property dealings, which has raised questions about her residency and tax payments.
The investigation was initiated following allegations made by Kevin Hollinrake MP, who accused Angela Rayner of "hypocritical tax avoidance" in a letter to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister's independent adviser on ministers' interests.
According to the reports, Angela Rayner removed her name from the deeds of her family home in Greater Manchester and purchased a property in Hove, East Sussex, around 250 miles away. Electoral records show that she has registered to vote in person at her recently purchased £800,000 second home in Hove. However, she has not publicly disclosed her vote in the last election in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.
Angela Rayner has been alleged to have avoided paying a £40,000 second homes stamp duty surcharge on her new weekend residence in Hove. She has also been accused of avoiding paying thousands in council tax on a third property, a grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House, central London. The Cabinet Office has stated that Angela Rayner's council tax liability at Admiralty House has been properly discharged, but the Government has admitted that the Cabinet Office is paying her council tax bill.
Sir Laurie Magnus is deciding whether to open a formal investigation into Angela Rayner's conduct. If an investigation is launched and a breach is found, Angela Rayner could face sanctions ranging from reprimand to the loss of her ministerial residence.
Labour minister Douglas Alexander acknowledges that Angela Rayner faces "fair questions" over her failure to pay the £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase of her Hove flat. Angela Rayner has made contradictory statements about her residency, telling HMRC that Hove is not a second home while telling the Cabinet Office that Tameside is her primary home.
The Conservative Party has written to the local council to ask that Angela Rayner be struck off the electoral register in Tameside. The specific details of the investigation into Angela Rayner's property dealings are not provided in the text.
Following her resignation, Angela Rayner has not commented further since her admission on Friday night but has previously insisted that her Tameside house remains her main home. Sir Laurie Magnus concluded that Angela Rayner had breached the ministerial code, leading to her resignation.
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