Labour: Donations from British Virgin Islands company
Ed Miliband insists no hypocrisy over offshore donation and admits he will ‘probably’ have to pay the Mansion Tax, which affects houses worth more than £2million
Ed Miliband has faced allegations of hypocrisy after it emerged that the Labour party has accepted a donation from a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Vitabiotics Ltd, a vitamin manufacturer registered in the offshore tax haven, has given the Labour party £25,000.
The Labour leader has called for the government to tackle the use of tax havens, and Labour MPs have attacked Conservative supporters for “not paying their fair share of tax”. Mr Miliband has also criticised the Conservatives for being “the party of Mayfair hedge funds and Monaco tax avoiders.”
When asked about the Vitabiotics donation in an interview with ITV News, Mr Miliband said that he could not comment on individual companies’ tax positions. Vitabiotics have also donated to the Liberal Democrats.
In the same interview, Mr Miliband also said he will “probably” have to pay the Mansion Tax on his family home in North London.
The Labour leader said he would have to pay the £250 a month due on homes worth between £2million and £3million, but insisted that he was “happy” to pay the amount.
Mr Miliband insisted that the Mansion Tax would support the NHS, and it was “the right thing to do”. The Labour leader has been on the campaign in the West Country, visiting Plymouth.
“I think it is probable I will, yes and I am very happy to do that,” he said, when asked whether he would pay the tax, in an interview with ITV News.
“That is the difference between me and David Cameron. He wants to cut cut taxes for richer people.”
Mr Miliband said that the tax was crucial for funding doctors, nurses and other NHS workers.
The housing market has risen dramatically in recent years, meaning that Mr Miliband’s family home – owned by his wife barrister Justine Thornton – is now worth well over £2million. She paid £1.6million in 2009 – but the property website Zoopla now estimates that it is worth over £2.6million.
