SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh is facing a bankruptcy action over tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid PAYE related to the law firm of which she is a shareholder.
Documents lodged with Glasgow Sheriff Court show the taxman is seeking to wind up solicitors' firm Hamilton Burns after it was unable to pay an outstanding £31,000 in October.
The petition to wind up the company shows the lion's share of the amount relates to PAYE debts, with around £2000 in interest for the unpaid amount or late payments.
Read more: Taxman launches bankruptcy action against SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
Only £70 predates Ms Ahmed-Sheikh's time as an MP.
She was an equity partner in Hamilton Burns from 2010 to 2015, and the current MPs register of interests says she still has a shareholding in the firm, although she no longer works for it.
The petition states: "On 26th of October 2016 an officer of Revenue and Customs sent a letter to the company to its registered office.
"The letter stated that unless the debt detailed in the statement of liabilities attached to the letter was paid within seven working days of the date of the letter Revenue and Customs would present a petition to wind up the company."
It adds: "Those sums together total £44,821.96. The company has made a payment of £14,000. No further payment has been made."
The petition shows just over £43,000 was unpaid from the turn of 2016. The firm paid £14,000 of the outstanding amount in October.
The details come after it emerged that Lord Keen, Advocate General for Scotland, had brought a personal action against the Ochil and South Perthshire MP at Glasgow Sheriff Court last month on behalf of The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
A record of the case, which refers to Ms Ahmed-Sheikh as "the debtor", shows HMRC was granted a court order in late November under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985.
It referred to an application “for sequestration of the estate” of Ms Ahmed-Sheikh as a former partner in the Glasgow-based solicitors “and as an individual”.
Read more: Taxman launches bankruptcy action against SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
Granted by Sheriff Stuart Reid, the order paved the way for notice to be served on Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, giving her until 11am on 23 January 2017 to appear at the court to "show cause why sequestration should not be awarded”.
The case against Hamilton Burns WS Ltd is provisionally due to be heard on January 11, while that against Ms Ahmed-Sheikh is due on January 27.
There is no reference in the liquidation petition to Ms Ahmed-Sheikh or any other shareholder or partner of Hamilton Burns
Any MP who is sequestrated is barred from sitting or voting in the House of Commons.
If they are unable to have the sequestration order discharged or annulled within six months, they must vacate their seat.
Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, who stood for the Conservatives against Nicola Sturgeon in 1999 before defecting to the SNP, was elected last year with a majority over Labour of 10,168.
However in a recent statement released on Facebook, she criticised a report which suggested she could now lose her seat as “ridiculous”.
Read more: Taxman launches bankruptcy action against SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
She said: “I have no outstanding personal tax liability whatsoever with HMRC, and have received no notification of any court action. Any possible proceedings would concern Hamilton Burns, a law firm I left in May 2015 following my election. The idea that there is a possibility of bankruptcy is absurd and a crude attempt to smear my reputation.”
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