The British PM has been criticised on his family’s arrangements with offshore tax havens, after he admitted he owned shares in his father’s Panamanian trust
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron has been accused of “hypocrisy” after admitting that he owned shares in the Panamanian trust set up by his late father Ian Cameron, before selling them for over 30,000 pounds in 2010.
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David Cameron. Pic/AFP
After three days of stalling and four partial statements issued by Downing Street, PM Cameron confessed in an interview on Thursday that he owned shares in the tax haven fund, which he sold for 31,500 pounds just before becoming prime minister in 2010. Cameron said he made a profit on around 5,000 units he owned in Blairmore Investment Trust, but insisted the money was subjected to British tax rules. He also divulged details of his 3,00,000 pounds inheritance and said recent criticism of his father was “unfair”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was in Cameron’s “own interests” to disclose details of his family’s arrangements with offshore tax havens. Corbyn said that he wanted an investigation conducted by revenue and customs “about the amount of money of all people that have invested in these shell companies… and to calculate what tax they should have paid over the years”. Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru, accused Cameron of hypocrisy and asked him to report himself to the parliamentary standards committee. Skill Minsiter Nick Boles argued that David Cameron has been “more transparent” about his finances than any previous prime minister.