Conservative London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith has said he will publish his tax return after facing a grilling over his tax status.<\/p>\n
Speaking on BBC\u2019s Newsnight, Mr Goldsmith said: \u201cOf course I will [publish my tax returns] and I think all candidates should in this election.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if this is something the candidates agree to do, then I will of course do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fully anticipate doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldsmith faced questions over his previous \u2018non-dom\u2019 status during the programme but insisted he has \u201calways paid full tax\u201d on his income because he has always lived in the UK.<\/p>\n
Newsnight presenter Evan Davis asked Goldsmith whether his own tax affairs compromised his ability to speak out against the activities of multi-nationals, such as Google, which have been accused of tax avoidance.<\/p>\n
Until 2010, Goldsmith, a millionaire, held a non-dom tax status which he inherited from his father, Sir James Goldsmith, who died shortly after the 1997 general election with a \u00a31.2billion fortune.<\/p>\n
People with the status must pay tax on their UK earnings, but do not have to pay tax on any foreign income.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been tax resident in the UK,\u201d Goldsmith told Davis. \u201cI have always paid full tax on my income in the UK since I\u2019ve been paying tax since I was 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me just explain, my father died around 20 years ago. I became non-dom at age 20 or 21. Being non-dom allows you to make lifestyle choices to avoid paying tax.\u201d He added: \u201cI\u2019ve never been accused of not paying tax.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Goldsmith family fortune now resides in a discretionary fund run for the benefit of Sir James\u2019s children and which is administered from Geneva.<\/p>\n
Pressed about this by Davis, Mr Goldsmith added: \u201cI have a huge family that covers every continent in the world, more or less. I am one of very many siblings and members of the family. My father was an international businessman. He established an overseas trust before he died.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a beneficiary of that trust. I have absolutely no control over it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I do have control over is the income I get. And that income I get is subject to the full tax regime in the UK and has always has been.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, a spokesperson for Labour candidate Sadiq Khan told The Huffington Post UK that Mr Khan would also publish his tax return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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