Professor Gavin McEwen, former head of PwC's Kenyan tax practice and a member of CIOT, has been named as the Scottish Parliament's expert adviser for the establishment of the new tax raising body, Revenue Scotland, which will be responsible for collecting devolved taxes, following enactment in the Tax Powers Bill.
The legislation provides for the establishment of Revenue Scotland as the tax authority which will be responsible for collecting the two new devolved taxes and any other taxes which may be devolved or introduced in future.
It will put in place a distinctive statutory framework which will apply to all devolved taxes and will set out in clear terms the relationship between the tax authority and taxpayers in Scotland. This will include the powers and duties of Revenue Scotland - including duties to provide information and guidance to taxpayers - and the rights and duties of taxpayers, including opportunities to resolve tax disputes quickly and efficiently. The Bill will also contain provisions designed to combat avoidance of devolved taxes and allow Revenue Scotland to work with other tax authorities to tackle avoidance more widely.
McEwen, who is Honorary Professor of Taxation at the University of Aberdeen, will be providing expert analysis and briefings during the tenure of the appointment, which runs until 30 June 2014. He said: 'Setting up a new tax authority from scratch, and defining its powers and duties, will be a challenge, but it's also a real opportunity to get things "right first time" in the initial design.'
In recognition of the increasing significance of devolved taxation in Scotland, CIOT is establishing a Scottish Taxes Technical Sub-Committee, to be chaired by Moira Kelly, who is a senior manager in the corporate tax department at Scottish firm Anderson Anderson & Brown.
'While setting out a policy intention, however contentious, can be straightforward, translating that intention into statute accurately and effectively, and implementing it without unintended consequences, is often more of a challenge. This is where the input of tax professionals can really help the quality of tax law and administration,' Kelly said.
