Meg Munn - Expenses Claims

Expenses Claims

On 26 May 2009, Meg Munn was criticised after it was alleged by The Daily Telegraph that her husband, who is also employed part-time as her parliamentary aid, received more than £5,000 over four years of public money claimed for by Members of the Parliamentary Labour Party, including Government Ministers, for assistance completing their personal tax forms. Munn charged the taxpayer for the tax advice she received herself from her own husband. It was alleged that when she published the receipt on her website, she blacked out the portion indicating that her husband was the beneficiary of her expenses. However the blacking out had been done by the House of Commons authorities, presumably in error as they only blacked out his name for one year but left the other three years alone. Munn stated none of the information available on her website had information blacked out by her or any of her staff.

Labour MPs have argued that tax advice relating to their work is a legitimate expense, and the Labour Party issued a statement suggesting that "Many MPs rightly seek professional assistance and advice where this relates specifically to their role as Members of Parliament and the expense is therefore legitimate and justifiable. "The purpose of this is to ensure all tax liabilities connected with parliamentary duties are properly dealt with." Business groups expressed concerns said MPs might be being "treated differently" to other taxpayers. Saying, "If entrepreneurs sought professional tax advice, they had to pay the fee themselves and offset it against any profits on which they paid tax". Munn was one of 98 MPs who voted in favour of legislation which would have kept MPs expense details secret.