Corbyn: Media made entirely false claims without verifying or confirming the facts

This is the full statement published by a spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn following media reports over his tax return.

Jeremy’s tax return is complete and accurate. He has declared all income and paid the appropriate amount of tax.

The payment he received in 2015-16 as leader of the opposition of £27,192 appears on the return as a ‘benefit’ rather than as pay because that is how it is categorised by HMRC.

This figure is calculated after deducting the waivers Jeremy has made of earlier increases to the benefit. These waivers were also made by his predecessor, Ed Miliband. A parliamentary pension contribution of £3,395 was also deducted.

We are disappointed the Cabinet Office did not clarify this and explain the figure used on the P60 yesterday in answer to media inquiries they received.

It is also a matter of concern that some media organisations made entirely false claims without verifying or confirming the facts, and we expect these now to be corrected.

The owners of the media companies that have attempted to cast doubt over Jeremy’s transparent and accurate tax return are of course among those who could stand to lose from the tax transparency and justice the British people demand.

Jeremy believes firmly in transparency. These media barons have tax questions of their own to answer. Tax avoidance and evasion deprive the public purse of billions in revenue for vital services and is unfair on those with much lower earnings who pay a higher proportion of their income in tax.

To read the full story on Corbyn’s respond to the tax return row click here.