FORMER Labour chairman Ian Lavery called for tax avoidance to be “outlawed”, after HMRC probed his own finances.
The close ally of ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn has been investigated by the taxman in the past over payments from the National Union of Mineworkers.
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He said “no additional payments were requested or penalties applied” over a £70,000 loan from the union that was later written off and an overpayment on redundancy worth more than £45,000.
Last year he tweeted: “Working people have no issue with paying tax. It’s automatically deducted at source. Any opportunity to avoid paying your fair share should be outlawed immediately.”
Last night, Tory MP Nigel Mills called Mr Lavery’s situation “very dodgy”.
Mr Mills said: “This payment always seemed strange when he was leaving his job to become an MP. Not many union members would be pleased to see their subs used in this way.
“If it was for redundancy, it should have been taxed in the correct way. And if it wasn’t, what was it for? It looks to be a very dodgy situation and if HMRC concludes a new investigation is needed, it should happen.”
Tax lawyer Dan Neidle, who raised questions about former Tory Chancellor Nadim Zahawi’s financial affairs, said Mr Lavery still had questions to answer.
He said: “I fear he’s decided to provide bland statements, ignoring the specific questions asked, and hope it all goes away.”
Mr Lavery did not comment.
