Nicola Sturgeon defends her tax arrangements as she claims sympathy for Angela Rayner

Ms Sturgeon was last week criticised for using a loophole to avoid the SNP’s higher income tax rates on £30,000 of payments from her company.

The process, which is lawful, saw the former First Minister take two payments totalling £30,000 from her company in the form of dividends rather than a salary.

Her financial arrangement was criticised as being “the height of hypocrisy” by the Scottish Conservatives.

However, the SNP MSP told an audience in Aberdeen last night that she is currently “in a transition” and will be self-employed following the 2026 Holyrood election.

“I've got a company that I will become an employee of when I'm no longer in Parliament,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“I don't think that's appropriate just now.

“So I pay company tax and personal tax right now. Later, I'll pay personal tax as an employee.

“I'll defend my own circumstances.”

The Glasgow Southside MSP also said she had “some sympathy” for Angela Rayner, who was forced to resign last week having been found to have breached the parliamentary code.

Labour MP Ms Rayner stepped down from her roles as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after failing to pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove.

Ms Sturgeon said the situation had left her “conflicted”, adding that Ms Rayner was held to a double standard as a working class woman.

“I'm not trying to justify what happened there,” she said.

“But lots of rich men get away with a lot of stuff, and there's no doubt she's treated differently because she's working class women.

“That doesn't mean she should be held to lower standards.”

Ms Sturgeon said she recognised the ex-deputy prime minister’s position of having criticised other people and been left to regret her comments.

“When I'm in a bit out of trouble, I think, well, maybe I shouldn't have been this horrible to other people,” she said.

“[Angela Rayner] has not really given any quarter to other politicians facing difficulties.

“She said some pretty harsh things about me over the years.

“But at a human level, I feel, particularly after what I've been through over the last couple of years, I feel a lot of sympathy.”

Ms Sturgeon also pointed to the fact she had not taken a pay rise in the years she was First Minister, leaving her salary frozen at 2008 levels.

She said she was not seeking “any thanks” but added: “I'm just giving a bit of context, and I paid the difference back to public services and that was thousands and thousands of pounds over the years.

“And I think that was the right thing to do.

“But there's a double standard based on class, and there is definitely a double standard based on gender.

“In every sense, women in politics and public life are treated differently.”

Ms Sturgeon, who earns £74,507 as the Glasgow Southside MSP, set up her company in 2023 to deal with earnings outside Holyrood.

These include £25,000 for appearing as a pundit on ITV’s General Election night coverage last year.

She has also logged two of three instalments of a £300,000 advance for her memoir from publisher Pan Macmillan, in August 2023 and March this year.

Her register of interests at Holyrood showed she took a £10,000 dividend from the company, Nicola Sturgeon Ltd, on January 31 this year.

She took a further £20,000 dividend on June 30, which experts said would have saved her around £3,600 in tax.