Guido has been taking the opportunity of Keir and Rishi publishing their tax returns to delve deeper into their finances and noticed a discrepancy. In 2021/22 Keir reported only £453 of self-employed income. This is far less than the figure declared on his Register of Interests in the same period.

In August 2021, Keir declared receiving £17,598.60 for legal services – this wasn’t reported on his tax statement as self-employed income in 2021/22. Labour explain that this was an old debt from before 2008, so Starmer had already paid tax on it, which Guido finds odd. Even taken at face value, Labour are still under-representing his earnings.

Sir Keir’s sums for 2020/21 don’t add up either. By Guido’s calculations he declared £23,394 in this financial year – compared to the £21,295 reported on his return. Labour again says Starmer paid tax on the difference in a prior year.

Going by the Register of Interests, you can also see why Keir was keen to publish reports from the past two years and not beforehand. He’s raked in over £295,000 in additional income, on top of his MPs’ salary, since he became an MP in 2015.

If any bean-counting co-conspirators can explain why a barrister might supposedly pay income taxes in advance of receiving the income, please let Guido know. Is this normal?

UPDATE: Bean counters say barristers pay tax on an accruals basis.