Rishi Sunak’s wife shows non-doms would not leave the country, Wes Streeting says

The experience of Rishi Sunak’s wife shows non-doms would not leave the country if the controversial tax status was abolished, the shadow health secretary has said.

Labour wants to use money raised by scrapping the loophole – estimated to be billions of pounds - to train thousands of NHS staff.

But the prime minister has suggested that policy would instead cost Britain, by driving rich individuals abroad.

A row over non-doms erupted earlier this year when The Independent revealed that Mr Sunak's wife, Akshata Murty, held non-domicile tax status.

In response, she announced that she would give up the status, and start paying British taxes on all her worldwide income.

Defending the policy, Mr Streeting told Sky News it was not designed to “single out” Mr Sunak and his family.

But he said: “As for the claims that people would just take their money and go somewhere else - why is it that when it comes to taxing the wealthy it's far too difficult, but when it comes to picking the pockets of working people with punitive tax rises, that seems to be the Conservatives' first and last resort?”

He continued: “We have not taken this policy to single out the prime minister and his family actually.

“But there is a case in point in Downing Street, isn't there? Of someone who was a non-dom, now pays their taxes here and hasn't left the country. And I think that would be the case in the vast majority of non-doms too.”

“I do think this is a fair way of funding a workforce plan,” he added, urging the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, a former health secretary, to “nick the plan”.

Mr Hunt came under fire last month when he preserved the status in his autumn statement at the same time as hiking the taxes of millions of low- and middle-income earners.

Although Mr Sunak has suggested the move would cost money, Treasury officials have now been ordered to look at the figures.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank says its “best estimate” is that abolishing the measure would raise around £3bn a year