Corbyn unveils his tax return, 'error' included

Contractors can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s not just them who falls victim to HMRC mistakes – but also the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Having published his tax return yesterday, the Mirror reported that a £6,000 one-off tax payment that the Islington MP made was due to HMRC putting him on the wrong tax code.

The official explanation from Labour for the payment, which is about £40,000 shy of what Mr Corbyn paid to HMRC in total, was that it was to correct an “administrative error”.

That £40k squares against his total income of just over £132,000, comprised of his salary as an MP, pensions, and pay as leader of the opposition. The return shows no outside earnings.

“I have published my tax return for the fourth time since becoming leader of the Labour Party,” Mr Corbyn said in an online statement.

“In government, Labour will crack down on the scourge of tax avoidance and evasion and will put full transparency at the heart of our programme.”

The Labour leader challenged prime minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond to “lead by example” and upload their tax returns too, after shadow chancellor John McDonnell MP published his alongside Mr Corbyn’s.