SerpApi.Org
Angela Rayner is facing calls to return a £16,876 exit payment after she was reappointed to her old job as Housing Secretary.
The Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne received the money following her resignation in September, which came after a Telegraph investigation into her tax affairs.
But Ms Rayner was given her previous job back by Andy Burnham in Monday’s Cabinet reshuffle, leading to calls for her to return the sum.
James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, told The Daily Mail: “She pocketed a £17,000 reward courtesy of the taxpayer, and now she’s got her old job back courtesy of her mate Andy Burnham, who wants to hike taxes on the family home for everyone else.
“Rayner should hand back the cash. Her reappointment just confirms that there is one rule for Labour, and another for everyone else.”
Ms Rayner is also understood to be pushing for the implementation of a tourist tax in England, The Telegraph understands. She will press ahead with an “overnight levy” for visitors as part of plans for further fiscal devolution.
The new prime minister has long been a proponent of the policy, having voiced his support for a tax on overnight stays during his tenure as mayor of Greater Manchester.
It has been estimated that the overnight levy could add as much as £300 to the cost of a family “staycation” in Britain, and it is believed that as many as 10 of England’s 14 regional mayors are planning to or considering implementing “overnight visitor levies”.
The Telegraph understands that Ms Rayner will resume her work on introducing the overnight visitor levy in England by giving local mayors new revenue-raising powers to implement it.
Ms Rayner’s role also includes her old communities and local government briefs, which cover devolution and local authority organisation.
Ms Rayner declared as recently as last week that she wanted to defeat the “institutional resistance” to devolution that she faced when she was last in government.
Speaking at the New Economics Foundation conference, she said: “To truly get growth in every corner of the country and put more money into people’s pockets, we must rewire England by devolving power and money to the country as a whole.
“There was institutional resistance to fiscal devolution throughout my time in office. But we have shown it can be overcome. We faced them down in announcing an overnight visitor levy. We can do so again.”
Industry sources say tourism taxes would make England a less competitive destination and force holidaymakers towards councils that do not implement the charges.
The previous government said it wanted the new tax to be based on a percentage of accommodation costs, but was also considering a flat rate model.
Recommended
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Mr Burnham has previously said that the levy would allow mayors to raise revenue for investment in infrastructure, such as later-running buses and cleaner streets.
The Overnight Visitor Levy Bill was included in Sir Keir Starmer’s last King’s Speech in May, but did not get over the line before his resignation.
The Telegraph revealed last year that Ms Rayner had failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on her apartment in Hove, revelations which effectively forced her to quit.
In May, she said HMRC found no deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, and she had settled her bill, paving the way for her return.
