The study found under a fifth of students, over a third of recent movers and almost half of border residents (i.e. those living in the area either side of the border between England and Scotland) were spontaneously aware of the change to income tax prior to the introduction.

This awareness either remained steady or declined at the post-wave, depending on target group. The high level of awareness at the pre-wave is likely to have been caused by coverage of the issue in the media associated with the announcement of the rate in the Scottish Budget, and it appears that as recall of this coverage declined, awareness of the rate also declined.

Awareness among students was 19% prior and remained fairly steady at 16% afterward. The proportion of recent movers who spontaneously said they knew about the change to the SRIT stood at 38% at before the introduction and barely changed subsequently (37%). Awareness of the change diminished over time amongst border residents: the proportion spontaneously aware fell from 46% beforehand to 32% after.

SRIT was implemented in April 2016, meaning that taxes in Scotland now have two components: the tax set by the UK Parliament which goes towards the UK budget and another element set by the Scottish Parliament and which goes towards the Scottish budget.

The most commonly recalled element on the awareness campaign was HMRC’s letter, followed by media and press coverage. Awareness was higher among recent movers (47%) and border residents (37%). These levels of awareness are broadly in line with the pre-wave.

The SRIT is 10%, regardless of income. The UK rate paid in Scotland is correspondingly reduced, so that Scottish taxpayers pay the same overall rate of income tax as people in the rest of the UK. HMRC collects the SRIT on behalf of the Scottish government.

Many people will be unaffected by the changes, but some of Scotland’s 300,000 higher rate taxpayers could find themselves effectively evading tax through unawareness.

Indeed, HMRC issued notices requiring pension schemes operating relief at source to submit their annual return of individual information for 2016 to 2017 to HMRC by 5 July 2017.

The deadline for submitting the 2016 to 2017 annual return of individual information has passed but there are still a number of returns outstanding, according to an HMRC newsletter.

In Scotland, the higher rate tax band kicks in at £43,000, whereas in the rest of the UK it is £45,000 and will move up to £50,000 by 2020.

Scottish taxpayers must be UK resident in the first instance. The test is not about where you work but where you live and for most people the position will be clear. If your only home is in Scotland or you are a member of any of the various parliaments for Scotland, you are a Scottish taxpayer. 

If you have multiple homes in different parts of the UK or indeed if you move part way through the year, the position is less clear. In these circumstances you will be resident in the part of the UK where your closest connection is for the year. Determining this will consider many factors including the days spent in Scotland versus the rest of the UK and where your main residence is considered to be, such as where your spouse or children live.

The report on the awareness of the Scottish rate of income tax is available here.

Report by Calum Fuller