Angela Rayner saved £40,000 in stamp duty when buying a flat in Hove after telling tax authorities it was her main home. Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to the independent adviser on ministerial standards requesting an investigation into whether Rayner broke ministerial rules. There is no suggestion of legal wrongdoing. A Rayner spokesperson said she paid the relevant duty entirely properly. Rayner's council tax primary residence remains her family home in Ashton-under-Lyne, but following her divorce she ceased to own a stake, which meant the higher additional rate for a second home did not apply. She paid £30,000 on the £800,000 flat rather than £70,000.
The Daily Telegraph reported that she saved 40,000 in stamp duty when buying a flat in Hove, East Sussex, after telling tax authorities it was her main home. Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to the prime minister's independent standards adviser asking him to investigate whether Rayner broke ministerial rules. There is no suggestion she has broken any laws, but the Tories said this was "inappropriate tax avoidance for a minister subject to higher standards of conduct".
It is understood Rayner's "primary residence" for council tax purposes remains her family home in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, but that following her divorce she ceased to own a stake in the property. This meant she was able to avoid the higher rate of stamp duty that would have been applicable when buying the Hove flat if it had been classed as a second home, the Telegraph reported.
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