Angela Rayner claims she will avoid fine in stamp duty scandal

Angela Rayner claims she has been “exonerated by HMRC of deliberately avoiding tax” and does not need to pay a financial penalty.

However, HMRC have declined to comment on Ms Rayner’s claim, with a spokesperson telling the Telegraph it could not respond due to confidentiality laws.

Ms Rayner resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary after admitting she failed to pay the correct amount of stamp duty on her flat in Hove.

Have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation

As previously reported on Property118, the row over Ms Rayner’s stamp duty centred on allegations she “dodged” £40,000 on an £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, East Sussex, by declaring it her primary residence.

According to The Times, Ms Rayner removed her name from the deeds of her Greater Manchester home weeks before purchasing the Hove property, enabling her to pay £30,000 in stamp duty instead of the £70,000 that would have applied if the flat were a second home.

However, Ms Rayner claims HMRC has now cleared her of “any wrongdoing”, and that she has since paid the £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty and will not face a fine.

In a statement on X, Ms Rayner said: “I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.

“When purchasing a home of my own with a mortgage, I did not own any other property and had no personal financial interest in the court-instructed trust set up to manage my son’s financial award. I was advised by experts that I should pay stamp duty at the standard rate.

“I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this.

“I have always sought to act with integrity, and I believe politicians should be held to high standards – that is why I resigned from government and cooperated fully with HMRC.

“I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so.”

HMRC have declined to comment

However, HMRC has refused to comment on Ms Rayner’s claim.

A spokesperson told The Telegraph it would not deny that she had been cleared of any deliberate wrongdoing in relation to the stamp duty scandal, but said it could not comment further because of taxpayer confidentiality laws.

In an interview with The Guardian, Angela Rayner admitted some people would still feel uncomfortable about a former housing secretary paying the standard rate of stamp duty when HMRC later ruled she should have paid the higher rate.

She told The Guardian: “I understand that, but this is a very complex area of tax. It’s ambiguous and I did get advice at the time. Therefore, I felt like I’d done everything I could to ensure that I complied.”

The developments come as Ms Rayner is being tipped as a potential future Labour leadership contender, with Keir Starmer facing mounting pressure following Labour’s local election losses last week and growing unrest among Labour MPs.