The British Economy Minister denounces the "defamation campaign" for criticizing his wife

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (fourth right) and his wife, Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (fourth left) pose for a photo with guests including UK Home Secretary Priti Patel (left), UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (second left) and his wife Akshata Murthy (3 left) during a reception celebrating the British Asian Association at the British Museum on February 9, 2022 in London.

British Economy Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday denounced a “smear campaign” by the labor opposition after his billionaire wife was criticized for evading some UK taxes amid a purchasing power crisis.

“It’s horrible to attack my wife to get to me,” he said in an interview published in The Sun on Friday, noting that his wife, who is Indian, “paid UK taxes for every cent she earned” in that country.

His wife Akshata Murti, daughter of billionaire co-founder of Indian tech group Infosys, has a “non-resident” status, which is different from “non-resident” status, allowing you to avoid paying UK taxes on income overseas.

This means that her permanent home is considered abroad, despite the fact that she and Sunak occupy an official residence in Downing Street.

According to The Independent, which announced the information, this situation saved him millions of pounds in taxes, including dividends from his stake in Infosys.

Sunak denounced what he considered a “smear campaign” coming from the ranks of the opposition Labor Party.

But a source of that myth immediately denied the accusation and pointed to the surroundings of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has recently been engulfed by scandals and his popularity has declined, while the popularity of the Economy Minister has risen. Sunak was once considered the favorite to take over from Johnson.

Asked later at a press conference, Johnson defended his minister, saying: “Rishi is doing a great job and I believe that, as far as possible, families should not mix.”

“My wife was born in India, and I grew up there,” Sunak said. “It would not be reasonable or fair to ask you to sever ties with your country just because you are married to me.”

The status of non-residents is legally legal, but the news has not been welcomed by Britons, who are seeing their purchasing power dwindle amid historically high inflation, soaring energy bills and, as of Wednesday, rising Social Security contributions imposed by the economy minister.

Sunak came under fire in March for his new budget measures, calling them elitist and far from the real situation for most Britons. Its popularity has declined in opinion polls.