by Martin Beckford and James Tapsfield
Angela Rayner last night faced calls from the taxman to prove she had been ‘furloughed’ just in time to enter the Labor leadership race.
The former Labor deputy leader announced yesterday that HMRC had cleared him of any wrongdoing or carelessness in buying a house in Hove, East Sussex.
He was due to pay £40,000 in outstanding stamp duty on the south coast flat but was said to have avoided the fine.
Experts and political rivals have said ordinary taxpayers are likely to suffer as HMRC almost always imposes fines in such cases.
Questions have been raised as to how the taxman concluded she was not careless, given that she did not seek expert tax advice on the complex transaction involving the establishment of a trust for her disabled son.
Eyebrows have also been raised as to how the probe was shut down so quickly, paving the way for Sir Keir Starmer to take part in the race to replace him.
