Sajid Javid has accused the Labour Party of conducting a “smear campaign” after they called on tax authorities to investigate his financial affairs.
Labour has written to HMRC requesting a fresh examination of the health secretary’s historic tax arrangements, according to reports.
Their allegations focus on Javid’s ties to a company called SA Capital which he co-owned with his brother and their wives.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said his links raised the “possibility that he has been a beneficiary of a loan scheme designed to avoid paying UK tax”, according to the Independent.
However, the cabinet minister hit back today saying the claims were “typical Labour” and nothing more than a smear.
“This is just typical smear attacks by Labour and is nothing more.”
- Sajid Javid
Presenter Kay Burley asked him: “They say they’ve unearthed evidence of you avoiding hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax before you got into politics, did you?”
Javid replied: “No, of course not. This is typical Labour you know, personal attacks on people.
“And this is what Labour does when they’ve got nothing to say about the real issues at hand.
“What I think people want to know from Labour is what are their plans to deal with the NHS, Covid backlogs? What are their plans to help with the cost of living? What are their plans for growth in the economy?
“This is just typical smear attacks by Labour and is nothing more.”
Labour claimed there was a possibility that the “purpose of the loans were to provide a tax-efficient way for money held offshore to enter Britain” and that Javid “potentially avoided paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to HMRC”.
Burley pressed him: “What they say is that records show that you were a director of a company set up by your brother for a single day in May of 2005.
“And then you gave up yours and your wife’s shares. During that year SA Capital raised almost £1million in loans.
“Though only £411,000 was secured from banks, leaving £585,000 unaccounted for. 2005 accounts also show that £491,000 was lent to an unknown party. The suggestion being that if the purpose of loans was to provide a tax efficient way for money held offshore to enter Britain, is that nonsense or is there some truth in that?”
Javid replied: “I’ve been very clear about my own tax affairs, my tax status, my residences, when I worked in the UK, when I’ve worked abroad. I’ve been very clear and open about that.
“And at all times I’ve been clear that all rules, of course, have always been followed and what you’re referring to in this letter is just a typical sort of Labour smear campaign where they don’t have any evidence of anything and they’re just making things up so that they can launch personal attacks. That’s all this is.”
Burley applied the thumbscrews: “So £585,000 unaccounted for is the suggestion there and potentially the purpose of the loans to provide a tax efficient way for money held offshore to enter Britain, is there any truth at all in that allegation?”
Javid replied: “What I’ve been clear about and, as I’ve said, I’ve been very open about all of this, and yesterday when I was asked about this for the first time, is that some 20 years ago did I invest in my brother’s business to help him start a new business? Of course I did.
“And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think that’s something that many people would do to help out their siblings or their loved ones in starting their business or their enterprise. And that’s all there is to this. That’s all there is.”
Burley commented: “OK, so there was no way that money was coming in from offshore without paying the tax on it.”
Labour asked HMRC to overlook time limits for investigations into historic tax affairs given the public interest in how cabinet ministers manage their finances.
A source close to the health secretary told the Independent Javid never received any financial benefit from the arrangement.