Keir Starmer, the leader of the UK's Labour Party, has released his tax return for 2021/22, revealing earnings of over £210,000. Starmer's income falls within the top 1% of earners in the UK.

His earnings comprise £126,154 as an MP and Leader of the Opposition, along with capital gains of £85,466 from the sale of a house he helped his sister to purchase, on which he paid £23,930 in capital gains tax. Starmer paid a total of £67,033 in tax for the financial year, an increase from £51,547 in the previous year.

The release of Starmer's tax return comes a day after Chancellor Rishi Sunak published his own tax return, showing that he had paid over £1 million in UK tax over the previous three years. Sunak paid £432,493 in tax in 2021/22, £393,217 in 2020/21, and £227,350 in 2019/20. Last year, he earned £172,415 from dividends and £1.6 million from capital gains.

Starmer had previously criticised Sunak's Spring Budget, accusing the Chancellor of prioritising the country's richest 1%. Starmer had pledged to reverse Sunak's plans to abolish the tax-free limit of £1.07 million on pensions savings if he wins the election. However, Starmer was himself accused of hypocrisy after it was revealed that he is exempt from tax rules due to a deal established under the previous Labour government during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions. Starmer's civil service pension is not large enough to incur a tax charge under the pension cap system on its own, and he has not paid into it since 2013.

The release of tax returns by public figures is becoming increasingly common in the UK. The move is seen as a way of increasing transparency and accountability in the political system. While the release of tax returns is not mandatory, it has become expected of those holding high office. Photo by Rwendland, Wikimedia commons.