Nicola Sturgeon publishes her tax return in challenge to Rishi Sunak and party leaders
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has published her tax returns in a challenge to Sunak and the PM to do the same.
The documents for the last six years returns, published on the SNP website, show Sturgeon has only one source of income - her salary as First Minister. Ms Sturgeon has challenged Rishi Sunak and other leaders to do the same. Rishi Sunak said last week that his tax returns would be published "shortly".
While she is taxed on her full salary, she receives only the 2008/09 value. This means she returns around 20 per cent of her salary entitlement back to the public purse, the SNP said. The return for 2021/22 shows the FM was paid £140,496 and paid £51,237 in tax.
Nicola Sturgeon said: "I previously committed to being open and transparent to the people of Scotland about my own earnings. Today's publication makes good on that commitment. These documents show clearly that my sole source of income is my job as First Minister – the office which I have the immense privilege of holding. I hope other party leaders - including the Prime Minister - will follow suit in an effort to promote transparency in public office."
Since the start of the voluntary pay freeze on 1 April 2009, Scottish Ministers have made over £1.3 million (to 31 March 2022) available for public spending from their own pay packets, according to the SNP. Ms Sturgeon was challenged by journalists to publish the financial information at a press conference after she had pledged to publish her tax returns annually in 2016.