THE leaders of four of Scotland's main political parties have now published their tax returns in the wake of the Panama Papers controversy.
At the weekend in light of the Panama Papers leak, Prime Minister David Cameron made public a summary of his taxes after facing criticism about shares he held in an offshore fund set up by his father Ian, a Scottish stockbroker.
Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, and her conservative counterpart Ruth Davidson made their tax returns public on Saturday.
Ms Dugdale said she was making the financial information public as a result of the Panama Papers scandal and called on the other party leaders to do the same.
Nicola Sturgeon published her tax return yesterday as did Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie; she pledged to do the same each year she remained as First Minister.
Ms Sturgeon's return for 2014-15 revealed she had a total income of £104,817 and was charged £32,517 in income tax.
An SNP spokesman said: "The First Minister's only income is the salary she receives as an MSP and First Minister.
"Nicola Sturgeon pays tax on her full salary entitlement but only draws her salary at its 2008/09 level; the balance is automatically paid to the Scottish Government for use in general public spending.
"As a result, in 2014/15 the First Minister paid around £3000 into the Scottish Government consolidated fund(its bank account)," added the spokesman.
Mr Rennie's papers for the same year showed his income was £52,283 and he was charged £10,480.20 in income tax.
Making his financial details public, Mr Rennie said: "Compared with certain other party leaders my tax returns are rather dull but here they are anyway."
Ms Dugdale's documents showed she had an income of £57,465 in 2014-15 and was charged £11,250.40 tax. A total of £5242 was classified as "profit from self-employment" through her newspaper columns although the cash went directly to charity MND Scotland.
A Labour spokesman said: "The Panama papers showed that the rich elite are playing by different rules from the rest of us.
"Following the shocking revelation that the Prime Minister has benefited from money hidden away in tax havens, it's more important than ever for all political leaders to be transparent about their finances," he added.
Ms Davidson's tax return revealed she earned £52,223 in 2014-15 and paid £10,513 in tax.
Meantime, Jeremy Corbyn, who made clear he too would publish his tax return, suggested that not only senior politicians but also journalists in the public eye should be expected to reveal their financial details.
The Labour leader argued that there should be "the greatest sense of openness" over money and influence around politics following the Panama Papers' row over offshore finance.
Asked if the UK was now moving to a position where anyone in public life should reveal their tax affairs, Mr Corbyn said: "We are moving in that direction; it is probably a good thing if we move generally in that direction so that everybody knows what influences are at play.”
Mr Corbyn added: "Money and politics have to be treated with the greatest sense of openness possible so you know what influences are at work on any individual, on whatever political or any other decisions they make."
But Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, who said she did not have money in an offshore trust, said she was unsure whether making everyone in public life publish their tax returns would be a good idea.
“We have to think very carefully about the balance between transparency and privacy. We don't want to put people off who might have substantial assets, so it's worth having the debate but I don't think it's necessarily the case,” she said.
Elsewhere, Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, said he too would publish his own tax papers this week as he warned that trust in politicians was "taking another hammering".
He said: "It is absolutely essential that British people have full confidence in our leaders and that when decisions are made and budgets are written there is not even a slightest hint of a conflict of interest or personal gain.”
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