Labour 'confident' Jeremy Corbyn paid right amount of tax

Labour has said it is "confident" that Jeremy Corbyn has paid the correct amount of tax.

Jeremy Corbyn has faced questions over his income and tax affairs after he published a copy of his return online.

A copy of his tax return paperwork posted on his website showed he made more than £100,000 last year - but it did not appear to include an extra allowance he was entitled to claim as opposition leader.

It showed he earned a total of £114,342 in the financial year 2015-16 and paid £35,298 in tax.

However his income does not seem to include an extra £39,272-a-year salary as leader of the opposition. He was elected to that role in September 2015.

However, a Labour spokesman said the payment following Mr Corbyn's election as Labour leader is recorded under the heading "public office".

A Labour spokesman said: "Claims in some media that Jeremy Corbyn failed to declare £40,000 of income to the taxman are untrue.

"The extra payment following Jeremy's election as Labour leader of £27,192 is recorded in the tax return under the heading of 'public office'.

"We are confident the total income of £114,342 in the tax return is correct, as is the income tax charge of £35,298. Nearly all the tax was paid at source."

Labour said it welcomed media and public scrutiny of the Labour leader's tax return "as a matter of policy, not political point scoring".

"We believe in transparency. Those who seek the highest office, along with the very wealthy and powerful, should publish their tax returns," the spokesman said.

A spokesman for Labour told ITV News Correspondent Carl Dinnen they were "confident" that Mr Corbyn had paid the right amount of tax.

It has been growing increasingly common for senior politicians to share their tax return details in recent years.

Pressure to open up about tax arrangements increased after the Panama Papers leak led to then-Prime Minister David Cameron admitting he had benefited from an offshore trust set up by his father.

Mr Corbyn said he had chosen to share details of his earnings under a drive for politicians to be "open and transparent" about their tax arrangements.

It came after the Conservative chancellor Philip Hammond said he would not publish his tax return as it amounted to "demonstration politics".

Mr Hammond had been challenged by shadow chancellor John McDonnell to share the information but told the BBC he had "no intention of doing so".

"Just for the record my tax affairs are all perfectly regular and up to date," Mr Hammond added.

"But I think this demonstration politics isn't helping the atmosphere in British politic."

The shadow chancellor has said a Labour government will make everyone earning above £1 million make their tax records public if the party wins power.