Rachel Reeves has rejected demands for Angela Rayner to share the tax advice she was given concerning the sale of her home, telling GB News she has "every confidence" in the Shadow Deputy Prime Minister.
The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne is embroiled in a row over whether or not she should have been liable to pay capital gains tax when she sold a house in 2015.
Rayner is under pressure to publish the tax advice she received relating to the sale of the property.
But Reeves told GB News she doesn't believe she should publish her tax returns or advice as she doesn't believe the MP should be "treated differently" from her colleagues.
Reeves told GB News she doesn't believe Rayner should publish her tax returns or advice as she doesn't believe the MP should be "treated differently" from her colleagues
GB NEWS
The Shadow Chancellor said: "I have every confidence that Angela Rayner has paid the correct amount of tax. These are allegations going back to 2015, when she was married to her ex-husband when she lived in a property she no longer owns and before she was a Member of Parliament.
"She has since sought legal and tax advice. She is confident that she paid the right amount of tax and I have the utmost faith and trust in my friend and colleague Angela Rayner."
Asked by Christopher Hope if she has seen Rayner's tax advice, Reeves said: "No, because I haven't asked to see the tax returns or the tax advice of any of my colleagues and Angela Rayner shouldn't be treated differently from other MPs and other colleagues".
She added: "I don't think it is right that Angela Rayner is held to a higher standard than anyone else."
But the Shadow Chancellor told GB News she would be happy to publish her own tax return, saying: "If that is the system that people want, I would be happy to publish my tax return.
"But that is not a system we currently have in the UK. And I don't think this should be done picking off one person at a time."
Rayner sold her home in Stockport in 2015, which she bought through the right-to-buy scheme.
She registered the former council house as her main address on the electoral register, meaning she was not liable to pay capital gains tax on the £48,000 profit.
But there have been accusations that Rayner actually lived at her husband's house, a mile away.
The police had initially said that the Labour MP would not face an investigation over claims she gave false information about her primary address on the electoral roll in a statement earlier this month.
But Greater Manchester police are now reviewing the decision not to investigate claims Rayner may have broken electoral law.
Rayner insisted: "I bought my council house back in 2007. I owned my own home, lived there, paid the bills there and was registered to vote there, prior to selling the house in 2015.
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"All before I was an MP. As with the majority of ordinary people who sell their own homes, I was not liable for capital gains tax because it was my home and the only one I owned."
She later added: "Vicarage Road was my principal property.... my house was my house at Vicarage Road and I paid all my bills there, that was my home."
A Labour spokesperson said: “Angela and her husband mutually decided to maintain their existing residences to reflect their family’s circumstances, and they shared childcare responsibilities.
“Angela has always made clear she also spent time at her husband’s property when they had children and got married. She was perfectly entitled to do so.”
