Spain's president releases tax returns

The president of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, said he has released copies of his tax returns dating back to 2003. The release came as Rajoy moved to prove his innocence in the so-called Barcenas slush-fund scandal, thinkSPAIN said Sunday. Rajoy and other PP party officials have come under scrutiny since the arrest of former treasurer Luis Barcenas on charges of corruption and money laundering. The allegations accuse Barcenas of using Swiss bank accounts to pad the take-home pay of Rajoy and other PP leaders. Rajoy's base salary as president is about three times less than it was when he was an opposition-party leader in parliament in 2003-2011. His income tax payments for the eight years totaled more than 840,000 euros ($1.1 million). Rajoy's spending on travel and food were not reported because those expenses are tax exempt in Spain, thinkSpain said.