Meeting of the Parliament 19 August 2014
I thank the people who have been involved in the bill’s progress: the members of the Finance Committee; committee clerks; the committee’s adviser, Professor Gavin McEwen, who was mentioned by Gavin Brown; and the organisations and individuals who took the time to respond to the consultation and give evidence on the bill earlier this year.
It has been a long road, and from the outset the Finance Committee was aware of the complexities that are involved in a bill of this nature. As the committee’s convener, I was conscious of the need for close scrutiny. The technicalities of the bill are reflected in the large proportion of committee time that we dedicated to it.
As members know, the Scotland Act 2012 devolved the power to raise taxes on land transactions and waste disposal to landfill. With the passage of the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Bill, important changes to the Scottish taxation landscape will be implemented. The bill makes provision for a Scottish tax system to collect and manage the land and buildings transaction tax and Scottish landfill tax.
Furthermore, the bill will establish revenue Scotland, which will be a new non-ministerial department. As of 1 April 2015, that department will be the new tax authority responsible for collecting Scotland’s devolved taxes. [Interruption.] The bill also provides for Scottish tax tribunals. [Interruption.]