As parliamentary’s private secretary to then-Chancellor George Osborne (PPS) in 2011, Javid – now Health Minister – played a key role in selling the Coalition government austerity policies to lawmakers. But at the same time, Mr. Javid was using a trust, believed to be in a tax haven, to reduce his personal tax burden. He also served in the Treasury Department, and the government launched a policy consultation covering unfamiliar and foreign trusts in December 2011. Earlier this month, Mr Javid admitted that he had used the non-private regime before entering politics and that he had an offshore trust, but only now has it been revealed that he has not declared his confidence as an MP and PPS. The ministerial code states that while the PPS, acting as ministerial assistants, are not technical members of the government, “they must ensure that there is no or does not appear to be a conflict between their role as parliamentary private secretary and their private interests.” As soon as he became government minister in 2012, former banker Javid revealed more details about the extent of his assets abroad and how they are managed. “If Sajid Javid kept money in an offshore trust while he was a member of the Treasury Department, it would raise further questions about decision-making in this government,” said James Murray, shadow finance secretary at the Treasury Department. “It is hypocritical for senior ministers to defend the tax increase that affects employees this year, when so many years have passed by avoiding their share of the tax.” Earlier this month, Mr Javid admitted to using his homeless status to reduce his tax bill after The Independent revealed that Akshata Murty, the chancellor’s wife, had taken the same route to reduce her tax burden. accounts in the United Kingdom. Mrs Murty then decided to pay tax on her global income in the UK, but retained her homeless status. Offshore trusts and the use of “non-dom” status are perfectly legal methods of tax evasion. Mr Javid’s confidence was not included in his registration of members’s interests in 2011, but he did join Deutsche Bank, his former employer. A spokesman for Mr Javid declined to say whether the assets of the trust – which Mr Javid said in a statement he dissolved in 2012 – included those shares in Deutsche Bank as well as other assets, including shares in various companies. They also refused to say whether this trust operated as a blind trust or under a blind management agreement or to say where it was located. The Minister of Health did not collapse offshore confidence until the year after he entered the Ministry of Finance. He stopped using the controversial non-tax regime in 2009 before entering politics. “Sajid was very open and transparent about his previous tax regime in the UK and when he lived abroad. “He has nothing else to add,” said a spokesman for the secretary of health and welfare. When he disbanded his trust, Mr Javid was charged a 50 percent tax rate, which he claimed had offset any “accumulated benefit” from the financial deal. He also said he had always provided the information required by the tax, government and parliamentary authorities. “The public has a right to know which ministers have benefited from tax avoidance arrangements and how much money they have saved as a result,” Murray said. “While the Tories are raising taxes on workers as inflation and energy bills soar, Labor will make the tax system fairer. “We would abolish the outdated ‘non-dom’ system so that everyone who makes their home in Britain can pay tax here on all their income,” he added. A new review of Mr. Javid’s timetable reveals that he has been at the forefront of government politics, selling tough austerity policies to Tory supporters after the financial crisis, while exploiting mechanisms to protect his wealth. During his tenure as banker, Mr. Javid – the same former chancellor – became associated with Dark Blue Investments, an employee trust trust where he paid personal bonus bonuses through a trust to avoid taxes. The Supreme Court ruled that these bonuses should be taxed. Experts have disputed Mr Javid’s use of the non-dom status, as he was born in the United Kingdom and should therefore state that he did not intend to live in the country for the long term.
