Boris Johnson and Michael Gove reported to be critical of tax bills, while others deride complaints as ‘bungs’ for wealthy donorsSenior UK cabinet ministers have reportedly expressed concerns after prominent leave campaigners who donated large sums to the Brexit campaigns during the 2016 referendum recently received tax demands from HMRC. The demands from HMRC hinge on inheritance tax rules that require tax to be paid upfront on large gifts. Party political donations, as well as donations to charities, are usually exempt, but HMRC has said that does not apply to individuals who donated to the referendum campaign. HMRC dismissed the suggestion that the tax demands were evidence of bias, saying it applied the law equally across all donors. It is understood one remain campaign donor has also received a similar substantial tax bill.

Source: The Guardian December 24, 2017 14:11 UTC