Jurisdiction Scotland | Key document Scotland Act 2012 | |
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Formed 1 January 2015 (2015-01-01) Headquarters Victoria Quay, Edinburgh Minister responsible Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution Non-ministerial government department executives Eleanor Emberson, Chief Executive
Dr Keith Nicholson, Chair | ||
Revenue Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Teachd-a-steach Alba) is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government responsible for the administration and collection of devolved taxes in Scotland.
Contents
Revenue Scotland is accountable to the Scottish Parliament.
History
Since the Acts of Union in 1707, most taxes in Scotland had been collected by the UK Government. Revenue Scotland was formed in 2012 as an administrative unit of the Scottish Government, in anticipation of it becoming responsible for collecting taxes devolved to the Scottish Parliament under the terms of the Scotland Act 2012. That Act also gave the Scottish Parliament powers to vary the basic rate of income tax, but this will be administered by HMRC.
The Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014, which establishes the legal basis for the operation of Revenue Scotland, was passed by the Scottish Parliament in August 2014.
Revenue Scotland was officially established on 1 January 2015 to collect Scotland’s newly devolved Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). This is the first Scotland-wide tax collection system for over 300 years.
Governance structure
The Minister responsible for Revenue Scotland is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution, Derek Mackay MSP. Eleanor Emberson was appointed in 2012 to lead the organisation while it was being set up Elaine Lorimer succeeded Emberson as chief executive in March 2016.
The Board of Revenue Scotland is composed of five members. Its main role is to develop and approve Revenue Scotland’s overall strategy, approve final business plans and advise the Chief Executive on key appointments. It also performs an assurance role and advises on best practice.
Board
Dr Keith Nicholson was appointed as permanent chair in August 2015, for a three-year term.
As of December 2015 the members of the Board are: