My role is influenced by two key facts. Firstly, ICAS is headquartered in Scotland and we seek to take a leading role in Scottish affairs; but, secondly, we are a UK body with almost half of the ICAS membership in England and Wales. My role includes representing members’ views to HMRC, to Revenue Scotland and to both UK and Scottish politicians, and informing members of technical and administrative changes to taxation.
My in-tray in recent months has included the drafting of an ICAS tax manifesto for the Scottish elections; participating with the other professional bodies in our discussions with HMRC about meeting ‘the challenge’ issued by the government on tax avoidance; and speaking at ‘Spring updates’ for ICAS members around the country.
What are the key issues concerning tax devolution for Scotland?
Key opportunities are introducing accountability through taxation, and the ability to tailor tax law to Scottish circumstances. The main challenge is working with two sets of tax rules. Often, the legislation is similar between the two jurisdictions but not exactly the same. For instance, the taxes management provisions in the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014 are largely a cut and paste from UK legislation, but there are differences that could easily catch out a tax adviser.
More broadly, the concept of ‘Scottish taxes’ is currently a confusing one. Some taxes are fully devolved, such as the land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT); but others, such as income tax, are only partially devolved. There are also different dates of implementation for the devolution of different taxes.
Comment on the administration of taxes in Scotland.
Much of the most important tax in terms of raising finance for the Scottish government is income tax. This year, 2016/17, there is a single Scottish rate of income tax at 10 pence inserted across all rate bands. It is payable by Scottish taxpayers, who are identified by an ‘S’ PAYE code, based on where they live, and it is the responsibility of HMRC to identify those who are Scottish. Not everyone has been correctly identified yet but hopefully this will be rectified before the measures in the Scotland Act 2016 are implemented; i.e. when all income tax rates and bands are devolved from April 2017.
Revenue Scotland is responsible for the fully devolved taxes of LBTT and Scottish landfill tax (from April 2015); air passenger duty from April 2018; and, in due course, aggregates levy. As a new tax authority, Revenue Scotland continues to make its way along the learning curve. There may also be challenges to come around some of the new legislation, such as the GAAR – the general anti-avoidance rule – which is designed to be wider than the UK general anti-abuse rule measure in FA 2013.
If you could make one change to UK tax law or practice, what would it be?
I would like to see a more purposive approach to the interpretation of tax legislation. We have seen recent examples of this in the Supreme Court and in some tribunal decisions: it seems a sensible approach to some of the more extreme tax avoidance schemes that do not pass the common sense test for me.
Aside from your immediate colleagues, who in tax do you most admire?
Not a person but an institution – the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) and its leaders. I worked for a spell with John Andrews and Robin Williamson, both of whom are inspirational. They care passionately about the problems of people on low incomes who cannot access advice easily and yet who often have complicated tax issues, particularly around the interaction of tax and tax credits.
You might not know this about me…
Some folk think I went up in the rainwear stakes when I got married – my maiden name was Mackintosh.
My role is influenced by two key facts. Firstly, ICAS is headquartered in Scotland and we seek to take a leading role in Scottish affairs; but, secondly, we are a UK body with almost half of the ICAS membership in England and Wales. My role includes representing members’ views to HMRC, to Revenue Scotland and to both UK and Scottish politicians, and informing members of technical and administrative changes to taxation.
My in-tray in recent months has included the drafting of an ICAS tax manifesto for the Scottish elections; participating with the other professional bodies in our discussions with HMRC about meeting ‘the challenge’ issued by the government on tax avoidance; and speaking at ‘Spring updates’ for ICAS members around the country.
What are the key issues concerning tax devolution for Scotland?
Key opportunities are introducing accountability through taxation, and the ability to tailor tax law to Scottish circumstances. The main challenge is working with two sets of tax rules. Often, the legislation is similar between the two jurisdictions but not exactly the same. For instance, the taxes management provisions in the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014 are largely a cut and paste from UK legislation, but there are differences that could easily catch out a tax adviser.
More broadly, the concept of ‘Scottish taxes’ is currently a confusing one. Some taxes are fully devolved, such as the land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT); but others, such as income tax, are only partially devolved. There are also different dates of implementation for the devolution of different taxes.
Comment on the administration of taxes in Scotland.
Much of the most important tax in terms of raising finance for the Scottish government is income tax. This year, 2016/17, there is a single Scottish rate of income tax at 10 pence inserted across all rate bands. It is payable by Scottish taxpayers, who are identified by an ‘S’ PAYE code, based on where they live, and it is the responsibility of HMRC to identify those who are Scottish. Not everyone has been correctly identified yet but hopefully this will be rectified before the measures in the Scotland Act 2016 are implemented; i.e. when all income tax rates and bands are devolved from April 2017.
Revenue Scotland is responsible for the fully devolved taxes of LBTT and Scottish landfill tax (from April 2015); air passenger duty from April 2018; and, in due course, aggregates levy. As a new tax authority, Revenue Scotland continues to make its way along the learning curve. There may also be challenges to come around some of the new legislation, such as the GAAR – the general anti-avoidance rule – which is designed to be wider than the UK general anti-abuse rule measure in FA 2013.
If you could make one change to UK tax law or practice, what would it be?
I would like to see a more purposive approach to the interpretation of tax legislation. We have seen recent examples of this in the Supreme Court and in some tribunal decisions: it seems a sensible approach to some of the more extreme tax avoidance schemes that do not pass the common sense test for me.
Aside from your immediate colleagues, who in tax do you most admire?
Not a person but an institution – the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) and its leaders. I worked for a spell with John Andrews and Robin Williamson, both of whom are inspirational. They care passionately about the problems of people on low incomes who cannot access advice easily and yet who often have complicated tax issues, particularly around the interaction of tax and tax credits.
You might not know this about me…
Some folk think I went up in the rainwear stakes when I got married – my maiden name was Mackintosh.
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