British Prime Minister David Cameron braced for a parliamentary grilling on Monday over his offshore dealings revealed by the Panama Papers leak as he announced plans to criminalise firms whose staff facilitate tax evasion.
Mr Cameron was forced to publish his tax returns over the weekend after admitting he held shares in his late father’s investment fund based in the Bahamas, which he sold before becoming Prime Minister in 2010. But in his first appearance in the House of Commons since the row broke one week ago, the Conservative leader will be pressed by the Opposition Labour Party to reveal further details of his financial affairs.
While not illegal, Mr Cameron’s offshore dealings also risk undermining his efforts to lead international action against tax evasion, which will see him host an anti-corruption summit in London in May.
In a bid to counter days of negative headlines in Britain, Mr Cameron has announced plans for legislation in 2016 to make companies criminally responsible if they fail to stop staff facilitating tax evasion.
“This government has done more than any other to take action against corruption in all its forms, but we will go further,” Mr Cameron said in a statement.
In a first for a British Prime Minister, Mr Came-ron on Sunday published a summary of his finances for the past six years, revealing his salary, expen-ses, rental income from a house he owns in London and savings. Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha had previously owned shares in Ian Cameron’s investment fund Blairmore, which was named in the leak of documents by law firm Mossack Fonseca. He also revealed that he received a £200,000 gift from his mother, on top of £300,000 received in his father’s will, raising questions over whether the gift was intended to avoid inheritance tax.
Britain’s finance minister on Monday released details of his last tax returns after days of controversy following the publication Panama Papers. The release showed finance minister George Osborne had a total taxable income of £198,738 during the 2014/15 financial year.
The release stated he had “no offshore interests in shares or anything else”.
