David Cameron releases personal finance records amid offshore fund storm

Updated

David Cameron had a taxable income of more than £200,000 in 2014-15 and paid almost £76,000 in tax, an unprecedented release of his personal finance details show.

The figures show that, on top of his income as Prime Minister, his 50% share of the rental income on the Camerons' family home in London amounted to £46,899, he received £9,834 in taxable expenses from the Tory party and £3,052 in interest on savings in a high street bank.

The figures reveal that when he first entered Downing Street in 2010 he took advantage of a £20,000 tax-free allowance as part of his £142,500 salary.

The information, first promised in 2012 but released following the furore about Mr Cameron's shares in an offshore fund set up by his father Ian, shows that Mr Cameron earned enough to benefit from the cut in the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p.

The cut, announced in 2012 for people earning more than £150,000, came into effect in April 2013.

Mr Cameron said he was publishing the information to be "completely open and transparent" about his financial affairs.

The disclosure came after he admitted botching the handling of the row over his finances, telling Tory activists it had "not been a great week".

Speaking at the Conservative Party's spring forum in central London, he said: "It has not been a great week. I know that I should have handled this better, I could have handled this better.

"I know there are lessons to learn and I will learn them.

"Don't blame Number 10 Downing Street or nameless advisers, blame me."

The Prime Minister and his wife Samantha made a £19,000 profit from their sale in 2010 of shares in the Blairmore Holdings fund set up by Ian Cameron.

The £9,501 declared as Mr Cameron's share of the profit in the schedule released by Downing Street fell below the threshold for capital gains tax, which stood at £10,100.

The tax return figures show that in 2009-10, while leader of the opposition, Mr Cameron paid £43,483 income tax on a total taxable income of £129,225.

In 2010-11, after entering Downing Street, he paid £56,155 on a taxable income of £157,286 - benefiting from the little-known £20,000 tax-free "prime ministerial expenses deduction".

In 2011-12 his income rose to £200,919, boosted by his share of the rental income from the Notting Hill home vacated by the Camerons when they moved into Downing Street, and he paid £77,987 in tax.

In 2012-13 Mr Cameron paid £72,472 tax on an income of £189,506; in 2013-14 he paid £76,288 on his £200,735 income.

Although Mr Cameron's gross salary as Prime Minister stood at £142,500 between 2010 and 2015, the variations in the taxable amount came through the way his pension contributions were treated and the different approaches taken to the £20,000 tax-free allowance.

The Prime Minister voluntarily cancelled out the allowance by declaring the equivalent amount as taxable income between 2011-12 and 2013-14 before waiving it entirely from 2014-15.

The figures show that the Camerons receive rent of more than £90,000 a year on the Notting Hill property.

Mr Cameron's 50% share of the net rental income, minus expenses, was £45,041 in 2011-12, £46,700 in 2012-13, £47,764 in 2013-14 and £46,899 last year.

Interest from his high street savings accounts amounted to £26 in 2009-10, £87 in 2010-11, £365 in 2011-12 before rising to £2,701 in 2012-13, £6,681 in 2013-14 and £3,052 in 2014-15.

Mr Cameron's savings benefited from the sale of £72,000 of shares when he entered No 10, with the gains on some shares wiped out by losses on others, resulting in a capital loss of £2,507, and around £40,000 in cash from an account with a stockbroker.

He also inherited £300,000 when his father died in 2010 but was also given two payments of £100,000 by his mother in May and July 2011 in an attempt to balance out the legacy left between the Prime Minister and his siblings.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would publish his own tax return "very, very soon" and insisted there were "no surprises there" as he demanded action to crack down on tax havens.

Labour seized on the gift from Mr Cameron's mother, which may mean avoiding inheritance tax on the £200,000.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "The week started with a moral crisis at the heart of the Tory party and has now ended with a scandal at the very top of Government.

"The Prime Minister has been forced to admit that not only had he benefited from a company that paid no tax in 30 years, but that he may also have paid hardly any tax on benefits potentially gained from the same company.

"David Cameron can't hide any more, he needs to come to Parliament on Monday and put the record straight."

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