The Mayor of London will have earned more than £700,000 in the last five years, it has emerged today, as his rivals were challenged to disclose their own financial affairs.
Sadiq Khan published a summary of his tax returns since 2016, which showed that he had no outside earnings and has paid more than £230,000 in income tax and National Insurance in his first four years in office. His earnings increased from £130,112 in 2016-17 to £152,734 in 2019-20. His salary is currently £137,461 after he voluntarily decided to take a 10 per cent pay cut last summer amid fears the City Hall was facing a near-£500 million hole in its finances as a result of Covid-19.
Mr Khan’s tax returns, which have been verified by his accountant, show that he paid £53,730 in income tax and £7,019 in National Insurance in 2019/20, giving him take-home pay of £91,985. As part of his cost-cutting at City Hall, he also froze the salaries of his 10 deputy mayors and five most senior aides. His share of council tax bills are due to rise by 9.5 per cent, equating to £31.59 on benchmark band-D bills, from April.
