In Labour we don't trust

Riddle of 'British Obama' family's £1m home: Tax haven funded purchase of London house 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058132/Tax-haven-riddle-British-Obama-familys-1m-home.html#ixzz1k5CcRIH0

A Labour frontbencher who has led the attacks on ‘tax avoiders’ in the City is at the centre of controversy after it was revealed his £1 million family home was funded from a tax haven.

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The purchase of Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna’s mother’s house was financed via a Jersey-based trust which helps ‘high net worth’ individuals to ‘plan for and mitigate tax liabilities’.  

Mr Umunna has attacked City fat cats who live by different rules to ‘ordinary taxpayers’. 

He grilled Barclays boss Bob Diamond over the bank’s subsidiary companies in Jersey, which he described as ‘a well-known tax haven’, and described the payment of tax as an ‘obligation to society’.

Last night, Mr Umunna said the arrangement was a ‘private matter’ but denied any attempt to avoid tax

The large detached home in Mr Umunna’s Streatham constituency, South London, was registered in the sole name of his English mother Patricia in 1994, shortly after the death of his Nigerian father. It was his home until five years ago, when he moved to a nearby flat. 

Patricia Umunna is a partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood, and specialises in ‘advising clients on all aspects of finance and funding’.

Home: Patricia Umunna's house in Streatham was purchased through a trust

Land Registry documents reveal the house’s complicated ownership structure. Its purchase was funded by Vona Limited, a company registered in Jersey, and in turn owned by companies run by the RBC Trust Company.

RBC, also based on the Channel Island, boasts it is one of the ‘top ten’ largest wealth managers in the world, offering services to ‘high net worth clients’ including ‘planning for and mitigating income, capital gains or inheritance taxes’.  

A tax expert said: ‘These trusts can cost thousands to run. I can’t think of any reason to do that other than to reduce a tax bill.’