Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promised to follow David Cameron and release his tax details, after the prime minister became the first British politician to make his personal finances public after revelations in the Panama Papers.
Corbyn said the matter highlighted “a whole ethos” surrounding how the very wealthy handled their taxes, adding he too would publish his own tax return “very, very soon,” the BBC reported Sunday.
He accused the prime minister of misleading people and losing public trust, saying: “It’s not about an individual, it’s not about one person, it’s not about one family.”
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Corbyn said Labour would propose tougher parliamentary registration rules that would mean overseas assets had to be declared at a much lower value.
“There is a question for parliament there,” he said. “There is a question for parliamentary standards … There has been a series of changing stories coming out of Downing Street. There has been a statement roughly every 18 to 24 hours since last Monday.”
Asked if more MPs and even political journalists should publish their income tax returns, Corbyn replied: “I think we are moving in that direction. I think it is a good thing so everyone knows what influences are at play.”
The prime minister on Saturday disclosed information that goes into his tax returns because he wanted “to be completely open and transparent about these things.”
Cameron has been facing a wave of criticism and calls for his resignation after admitting he had a stake in his father’s offshore trust and had profited from it.
The Panama Papers revealed Cameron’s late father was a client of the Mossack Fonseca law firm when he established a fund for investors.
The prime minister’s documents from RNS Chartered Accountants — which cover six years — show Cameron paid tax of £75,898 (€94,082) on income of £200,307 (€248,297) in the 2014-2015 financial year, the most recent one included.
His income included £140,522 in salary (€174,189), taxable expenses of £9,834 (€12,190), £46,899 (€58,135) from half of the share of rent from his family home in London and £3,052 (€3,783) in interest on savings.