DOUGLAS Ross has published his most recent tax return after the First Minister threw down the gauntlet by making her financial information public.
The Scottish Conservative leader earns money as both an MP and an MSP – though he donates the latter to local charities, the party said.
He made no money from refereeing in the 2021-2022 tax year because he was prevented from officiating any matches due to injury during that period, the Scottish Conservatives added.
Ross takes a reduced MSP salary because he sits in both Holyrood and Westminster.
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His tax return showed he received £17,223 pre-tax – paying £6788 to HMRC that year. This was a pro-rata salary because he only took his Scottish Parliament seat in May 2021, so his income does not amount to a full-year salary.
The Scottish Parliament website shows MSPs who also sit as MPs should receive a salary of £22,221 per year.
He recorded pre-tax income from his job as an MP of £72,821 for the period – paying £18,594 to the state.
His return also showed he had claimed expenses worth £3873 as an MSP.
The Northern Scot reported that in July 2021, Ross donated his monthly MSP wage packet to the Moray charity Keiran's Legacy which funds outdoor defibrillators.
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It comes on the same day Nicola Sturgeon made public her financial information for the past six years.
The SNP leader challenged the Prime Minister and her Holyrood opponents Ross and Anas Sarwar to follow suit.
Rishi Sunak said last week that his tax returns would be published "shortly" and claimed they were being "prepared" in an interview with Piers Morgan. The documents show that Sturgeon only receives a salary as an MSP and First Minister.
The FM pays tax on her full salary, but this is still at the level for 2008-2009 as she has repeatedly refused pay rises.
The returns for 2021-2022 and 2020-2021 showed the FM was given £140,496 and subsequently paid back £51,237 in tax.
The SNP said Sturgeon returns around £27,000 worth of her salary back into the system to pay for services.
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