“A new bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament [on] April 17th could see Scotland adopt a new tax to replace UK Landfill Tax and tackle illegal waste disposal while bringing benefits to community and environmental groups.

Finance Secretary John Swinney introduced the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Bill, which will see Scotland take responsibility from the UK Government for administering landfill tax.  If passed, the Bill will help tackle the problem of unauthorised dumping activity and encourage the proper disposal and recycling of materials.

The Bill also introduces a Scottish communities fund which will support environmental organisations and provide assistance to communities living in close proximity to landfill sites. “

More on this can be found here.

Just as the weather in Scotland likes to tease us, so do the Tories over tax powers for the Scottish Parliament.  You can sense the nervousness growing in those opposing substantial tax and fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament.  They feel that need to be saying something substantial but they just don’t know what to say.  They think that a hint of something substantial will be enough.

Look how the Liberal Democrats talked up their recent ‘Home Rule Commission’ report and the amount of power being devolved under Scotland Act 2012.  The reality as usual being very different.  My earlier blog on this can be found here.

So what have the Tories been saying, or rather hinting at?  Ruth Davidson has announced that yet another group will examine the existing devolution settlement in order to set out a clear alternative to independence in next year’s referendum.  A “clear alternative to independence”, I think not more a clear case of déjà vu.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.

The UK Government’s nervousness on the devolving of tax powers is not confined to Scotland.  The negative reaction it has received to one particular announcement shows how difficult a position it is now in.  The recent move to put off the decision to devolve corporation tax to Northern Ireland has not gone down well.  Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland’s First Minister said he had told the Prime Minister: “What, effectively, you are saying to the people of Scotland is that if you want more fiscal autonomy than you have at the present time, the only way to have it is through independence.”  More on this from the Herald can be found here.

Now to HMRC.  So much is happening with them just now it is difficult to keep up.

HMRC has announced that it is postponing payroll reforms for small businesses that require businesses to send real time information to HMRC amid fears that small businesses are unprepared for the changes.  More on this from the Financial Times can be found here.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has also criticised HMRC target of answering 80% of tax enquiry calls within 5 minutes as “unambitious and woefully inadequate”.  It also found that Britons waste £136m a year attempting to get through to HMRC, with about 20 million of the 79 million calls received by HMRC going unanswered each year, despite spending £900m on improving customer service.  HMRC’s premium rate phone lines are also to be replaced.  Phone company Cable and Wireless is making a profit of about £1m a year from callers to HMRC’s 0845 enquiry numbers, according to a report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.  The lines are to be replaced with cheaper 03 numbers. More on this from the BBC news website can be found here.

HMRC is also to close all of its 281 Enquiry Centres, which gave face-to-face help to 2.5 million people with tax queries last year.  The closures in 2014 by HMRC, which aim to save £13m a year, are expected to add 2 million extra calls to phone lines while also putting 1,300 jobs at risk, though the authority aims to deploy these staff elsewhere.  HMRC aim is to replace the Enquiry Centres with interviews in a range of convenient locations.  This might include a person’s own home or business.  We shall see.  More on this from the BBC news website can be found here.  The matter of how we deal with tax enquiries is an issue that we in Scotland also need to look at as we create a Scottish tax system.

Now to attempts by the UK Government to reduce tax avoidance.

A tax loophole that allows firms to escape £100m a year in National Insurance will be closed under a new scheme targeting offshore payroll services.  From April 2014 the UK government will prevent employers avoiding National Insurance Contributions by paying their staff through an offshore intermediary.  It estimates that at least 100,000 workers are now being employed through an offshore agency, often without their knowledge, losing tax contributions of £100m a year.  More on this from the BBC News website can be found here.  The question is: why has it taken so long to try and put a stop to this.

The number of UK-resident non-domiciles has fallen by almost a fifth since the “remittance basis charge” was introduced in 2008.  Non-doms can elect to pay tax on UK income alone and keep their overseas income out of the UK tax net.  But if they elect to use this system long-term, they must pay the annual remittance basis charge after seven years of residence. The charge starts at £30,000 and increases to £50,000 after 12 years of residence.  More on this from the STEP journal can be found here.

HMRC is to launch a campaign aimed at people who have failed to declare capital gains on the sale of a second home, possibly going back many years.  This is yet another long overdue measure.  More on this from the STEP journal can be here.

The Charity Commission for England & Wales has been criticised by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee for failing to provide more substantial oversight of the sector after 50 organisations were found to be using charity rules to avoid tax.  More on this from the Telegraph can be found here.

Now to matters slightly further afield.

Let’s start with Cyprus and yet another banking disaster.  After much wrangling, Bank of Cyprus depositors with more than €100,000 could now lose up to 60% of their savings.  The original proposal was a one-off levy of up to 10% to be imposed on all bank accounts held on the island.  More on this from the BBC news website can be found here.

The UK should withhold extra aid to Pakistan unless the country does more to gather taxes from its wealthier citizens and tackle corruption, the House of Commons International Development Select Committee has suggested.  The UK Government is planning to increase the amount of aid to Pakistan to £446m by 2015 and the Chairman of the Committee, has said that it is a question of “how justified it is to increase [aid] at a time when [the] wealthiest people in Pakistan are paying little or no tax”.  More on this from the BBC news website can be found here.

Now to France.  President Hollande has announced that French companies will be taxed at 75% on any salaries they pay over €1m.  His original plan for a 75% top rate of income tax on individuals was struck out by the constitutional court earlier this year.  More on this from the Guardian can be found here.

Let’s end with a story from China.  According to reports, China’s property market has been thrown into turmoil by the announcement that capital gains tax on residential property is to be raised to 20%.  At the moment, the seller of a residential property pays between 1 and 2% of the total sale price. Officially, gains from selling second homes have been taxable for several years, but the tax has not been strictly enforced.  The measure is one of several just issued by the People’s Republic State Council in an effort to cool off the booming housing market.  More on this from the STEP journal can be found here.

One last thing.  Congratulations to Ryan Mania.  An absolute fantastic achievement today on winning the Grand National.  Another reminder of just how great it is to be from the Scottish Borders.

The above consultation closes on 12 April 2013.

“This is a consultation document seeking views on the structure and powers for Revenue Scotland, ensuring tax compliance, tackling tax avoidance, resolving tax disputes, treatment of taxpayer information and accelerated tax changes.

The Scottish Government has indicated that it intends to use the new competence of the Scottish Parliament to introduce taxes to replace the UK Stamp Duty Land Tax and Landfill Tax from 1 April 2015. This consultation complements the separate consultations on the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (concluded August 2012; draft Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 29 November) and a Scottish Landfill Tax (consultation closes 15 January 2013).

On 27 November the Scottish Government announced it is postponing the next revaluation of non-domestic rates until 2017.  In addition it has announced a comprehensive review of the non-domestic rates system.

The Scottish Government consultation, “Supporting Business – Promoting Growth” can be found here.  The consultation ends 22 February 2013.

My final “tax land” of 2012 as I have a looming chapter deadline on the subject of a Scottish tax system.

Where to start?  Let’s start with the UK Chancellor’s “Autumn” statement.

George Osborne admitted that the UK had missed its debt reduction targets putting the UK’s AAA credit rating under threat.  Osborne also announced that the planned rise on fuel duty is to be axed and the personal allowance of income tax payers is to be boosted.  Benefits are to be limited to a 1% rise a year for the next 3 years and economic growth will be lower than predicted until at least 2018.

In response the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned that one million people will find themselves joining the higher 40p income tax rate by 2015.  Far higher than the 400,000 figure quoted by Osborne.  The IFS also said further austerity measures to increase taxes and cut benefits were unavoidable to fix a £27bn black-hole in the UK economy before the next UK General Election.

Figures also showed that poorest 30% of households will suffer the most under the changes announced.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.

The AAA rating is of course an issue in the independence referendum.  One of the arguments made by those arguing NO is that an independent Scotland, notwithstanding its oil reserves, would lose its AAA credit rating.  This issue is now a problem for the NO campaign as the UK, in the event of a YES vote, would presumably be desperate to retain Scotland in a monetary union to protect its credit rating.

The YES campaign also received a further boost when it was confirmed that nearly 17 billion barrels of oil are to be recovered from the North Sea over the next 30 years following a £134bn investment by oil and gas companies.  The majority of the new developments will be in Scottish waters while production from gas fields in the southern North Sea begins a dramatic decline. More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.

Now to the tax avoidance debate.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has warned officials from HMRC that firms that devise complicated tax regimes are “running rings” around them. The Committee Chair, Margaret Hodge MP, said that the public would consider such schemes “completely and utterly immoral”. More on this from the Guardian can be found here.  My recent blog on this and the lack of political will to reform the UK’s tax system can be found here.

Meanwhile the Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury, Danny Alexander, has warned against naming and shaming large firms who do not pay the correct amount of tax, insisting that he is obliged to defend firms’ “taxpayer confidentiality”. More on this from the Mirror can be found here.  This adds to the growing evidence that the UK Government is at best being half-hearted in its attempts to tackle this issue.

Further evidence for this claim can be found when you consider that only 5% of the UK Government’s announced investment into HMRC will be aimed at tackling tax avoidance.  The context to this is of course the large budget reduction and cut in staff numbers already made to HMRC.  More on this from the Times can be found here.

According to an investigation by the Times, offshore companies are exploiting a tax loophole which allows them to buy up some of the UK’s most expensive homes and avoid paying property stamp duty, inheritance tax and capital gains tax.  More on this from the Times can be found here.  The Times has done some excellent work on this issue over the last few months.

Figures from HMRC show that the number of people declaring an annual income of more than £1m fell from 16,000 to 6,000 after the previous 50p top rate was brought in.  More on this from the Telegraph can be found here.  What this statistic purports to show is though open to debate.

Final point on the tax avoidance and tax evasion debate.  The claim that I have made on many occasions that tax for some, namely large companies and the wealthy, is becoming a matter of negotiation – almost voluntary in nature – seems now to be generally accepted.  That is clearly what Starbucks think.

The Scottish Government has unveiled plans to reform stamp duty land tax in Scotland.  The importance of this should not be underestimated.  The Scottish Government must show that it has the competence to deal with tax matters.  The signs so far are positive.  More on this can be found here.

Now to matters slight further afield.

France’s Senate has rejected the Government’s 2013 Budget, which among other measures raised the marginal tax rate on annual income of over €150,000 to 45%, imposed a 75% “solidarity contribution” on income over €1m, and raised capital gains tax rates to match income tax rates.  The Budget will though almost certainly be forced through by the National Assembly.  More on this from Tax-news can be found here.

The Republic of Ireland Government has revealed its 2013 Budget.  It introduces a new annual property tax of 0.18% on properties valued below €1m, payable by owners.  More expensive properties will be taxed at €1,800 plus 0.25% of their value over €1m.  Initially, and until 2016, owners’ valuations will be accepted.  More on this from the Irish Times can be found here.

Finally to the USA.  The US Internal Revenue Service has published guidance on calculating the new 3.8% tax on investment income, imposed to pay for President Obama’s universal health insurance plan.  More on this from the Journal of Accountancy can be found here.

This has been a very interesting year for all those interested in tax and the wider Scottish tax and fiscal powers debate. I suspect that is not going to change in 2013.  Best wishes to you and yours for 2013.

A lot has been written in the past dew weeks about the attitude of a number of international companies to paying UK corporation tax.  This issue is though only one of a number of matters that needs to be addressed.

Is there the political will to reform the UK’s tax system?  I would argue no.  What evidence do I have for this?

1. The reluctance of the UK Government to address the paying of corporation tax by large international companies.

2. There is a lot of talk of tax simplification but the reality is very different.  The new reduced rate of inheritance tax is but one example.

3. If the UK Government was serious about reforming the tax system we would be at least be debating publishing summaries of business tax returns and other ideas to increase transparency.

4. The introduction of morality into this debate does not help matters.  A robust tax system should not need to rely on what is and what is not “moral”.

5.  Fairness is though crucial.  The perception is growing that tax for certain sections of our society is optional.  This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.   The fact that it is increasingly difficult to tell what is “tax avoidance” and what is “tax evasion” does not help matters.

6.  The fact that the UK Government has allowed so many public sector people to be employed through service companies is nothing short of disgraceful.   This added to the perception of a lack of fairness.

7. The UK Government seemed to immediately say it would not introduce a Financial Transaction Tax because it was a European proposal.  The lack of a proper debate again added to the perception of a lack of fairness.

8. If the UK Government did care about the quality of UK’s tax system why have they made such deep cuts to HMRC’s budget and staff numbers.

This though is not just a UK Government matter.

It was reported a couple of months ago that a number of so-called celebrities were involved in schemes, perfectly legal, to reduce the amount of tax they paid.   The furore, if that is what it was, did not last long.  If the public do not seem to care too much about this issue then the UK Government might conclude it is not that important.

These issues apply just as much to the Scottish Government as further tax and fiscal powers reside in Edinburgh.

Let’s start with an issue that is at last beginning to reach the top of the political agenda, tax avoidance.

The UK National Audit Office has released a report suggesting that HMRC is being “overwhelmed” by the scale of tax avoidance, claiming that the UK is losing out by more than £10bn in lost tax revenue.  The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, stated: “HMRC must push harder to find an effective way to tackle the promoters and users of the most aggressive tax avoidance schemes”.  But according to the NAO, between 2004 and 2011 approximately 2,300 avoidance schemes were disclosed to HMRC.  A report on this can be found on the BBC news website which can be found here.  The NAO report can be found here.

That shows the scale of the problem.

Then there is the sight of a number of Chief Executives from several of the world’s top companies giving evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on the issue of tax avoidance.  Representatives from Google UK, Starbucks and Amazon were answering questions on tax arrangements for multinational companies.  Their responses show how big business views this issue and interference by politicians.  More on this from the BBC news website can be found here.

Also on this issue.  The Managing Director of John Lewis, Andy Street has said that the failure to resolve the issue would risk driving UK firms out of business.  Street’s comments were aimed at Amazon, which is accused of failing to pay the correct rate of UK corporation tax. He said that UK companies would be “out-invested” and “out-traded” by the US-based internet retail giant.  More on this from the Telegraph can be found here.

There is also some evidence that HMRC is losing this “battle”.  The European Court of Justice has ruled that the UK Government must refund several UK-headquartered multinationals up to £5bn worth of corporation tax.  The companies, led by British American Tobacco, were found to have been treated unfairly by HMRC which retrospectively blocked tax refund claims dating as far back as 1973.  HMRC said it was “very disappointed” at the ruling.  Glad that it was not “happy”.  More on this, again from the Telegraph, can be found here.

Then there is the tax tribunal decision in favour of the former Rangers Football Club.   The decision of the first tier tribunal was not unanimous and HMRC is considering an appeal.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.

An example of what HMRC is trying to do also highlights the scale of its task.  HMRC has launched a taskforce to pursue landlords in the south east of England who fail to declare rental income.  It is expected to recover £4m out of the estimated £550m of tax evaded annually by landlords across the UK.  A press release from HMRC on this matter can be found here. 

The statement from UK Business secretary Vince Cable sums up nicely the quandary for politicians.  Cable has called for action against corporate tax avoidance but also stressed the need to encourage investment.  He pointed to anger amongst small and medium sized businesses that multinational corporations are able to avoid tax without consequence.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.

I liked this: “High-street shops turn fire on Amazon’s tax avoidance”.  More on this can be found here.

Now to the fiscal powers debate.

Edward Troup, the person responsible for the collection of the Scottish rate of income tax at HMRC, has told MSPs that the Scottish Government would have to pay the costs of any changes to the Scottish rate of income tax.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.  This is in fact one of the reasons why I think a tax needs to be devolved in its entirety.

Also on this issue, and some sensible observations by Iain Gray, convener of Holyrood’s Audit Committee.  Gray said that the Scottish Parliament must be able to exercise greater oversight of HMRC when the Scottish Parliament will become responsible for raising half the income tax in Scotland from 2016.   More on this from the Herald can be found here.

The Devo Plus group, which was set up by Reform Scotland, has published its latest paper on further powers that could be devolved to the Scottish Parliament as long as Scotland votes NO.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.  The paper  can be found here. Notable that the Conservative representative acknowledged that he was there in a personal capacity and not representing his party.  Ruth Davidson has of course made her opposition to further powers clear.  The problem with this approach is an obvious one.  Can anyone say with a degree of certainty that major powers will be devolved to Scotland if Scotland votes NO.  To see how far apart the opposing sides in the independence debate are have a look at one of my recent blogs.  This blog lists the tax powers that Westminster has already said no to.  My earlier blog can be found here. Even the Liberal Democrats, the party that historically has went the furthest on this issue, now wishes to devolve only a handful of additional tax powers.

Now to some commentary on the recent Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the economic possibilities of an independent Scotland.  The excellent piece by Ian Bell in the Herald can be found here.  The argument that Scotland’s oil wealth is a potential problem for Scotland is simply ridiculous.

The Times has reported that sales of homes valued between £2m and £5m in Greater London have fallen by 29% per cent in the third quarter, according to figures from the Land Registry.  I was interested to read that “industry experts” have blamed the fall on changes to stamp duty land tax in the last UK Budget.  London Central Portfolio, a high-end residential property investment fund, said: “The fall in transactions is almost definitely a result of the uncertainty and negative sentiment caused by the tax changes announced in the 2012 Budget”.  It seems that uncertainty can be caused by something other than the debate on Scottish independence. The report in the Times can be found here.

And finally to France.  The French Government has announced new measures against tax avoidance and fraud for companies and individuals. Failure to disclose the origin of offshore assets will attract an automatic 60% tax rate.  The French tax authorities will also demand an explanation of all individual payments exceeding €200,000.  Vive la France.

Where to start.

In a speech to mark her first year as Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson outlined an aspiration to cut income tax by more than 1p when new powers come to Holyrood.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.  Now compare this with a survey that claims that three quarters of Scots think taxes should be raised for those with the highest incomes and wealth. More on the survey from the Herald can be found here.  These stories show how Scotland, both the politicians and the general public, are beginning to wake up to the fact that tax is not necessarily just a UK matter.

The Scottish Government has backed the latest call for control over air passenger duty to be passed to the Scottish Parliament.  This is a matter worth remembering when you hear comments from the NO campaign on how they “hope” to give the Scottish Parliament further powers.  Let’s not forget how few tax powers are included in the latest Scotland Act.  It is “Calman minus” just as the Liberals recent Home Rule Commission is “Steel minus”.  More on this can be found here.

First it was Rangers now it is Hearts that is in trouble with HMRC.  The surprise is no-one is surprised.  Hearts owe HMRC approximately £500,000 in unpaid tax.  More on this from the Scotsman can be found here.

The UK Government seems to be doing a fair bit of thinking just now which is always worrying.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has called for a change in international tax standards to reflect changes in business, such as the rise of e-commerce, which makes it easier for companies to shift taxation away from jurisdictions where profit is being generated.  More on this from the Guardian can be found here.  In addition, Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury, has pledged to crack down on corporate tax avoidance following revelations that the supermarket chain Asda may have used overseas transfers to its parent company Walmart to avoid up to £250m in tax.  More on this from the Times can be found here.  Lots of words but can we expect real action?

The Chief Executive of HMRC, Lin Homer, has been put under pressure by the UK Treasury Select Committee to explain why multinationals have been allowed to pay less tax than small businesses in the UK.  The Comptroller and Auditor-General of the National Audit Office, Amyas Morse, said that large companies often put pressure on HMRC by threatening to pull out of the country altogether.  More on this from the Times can be found here.  A connected story from the Daily Mail and involving Margaret Hodge, chairman of the UK Public Accounts Committee, can be found here.

Under “road charging” proposals being considered by the UK Government, motorists could face a new two-tier system in which drivers would pay a lower rate of tax if they do not use the UK’s trunk road network.  Have any of the UK media outlets considered the fact that this is also a matter for the Scottish Parliament?  Of course not.  The new system would comprise a basic charge for the use of local roads, and a secondary charge for those motorists wanting to use motorways and A-roads.  More on this from the Guardian can be found here.

Is it just me or is it really the case than almost every change in the law is met with the accusation that it breaches some part of EU law?  The latest example is the UK Government’s planned changes to child benefits.  The UK Treasury has dismissed the claims by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.  More on this from the Telegraph can be found here.

David Gauke, Exchequer Minister to the UK Treasury, has argued that HMRC needs to pay more to recruit the best tax experts in order to combat tax avoidance by major multinational companies.  Edward Troup, Director-General for Tax and Welfare at HMRC, welcomed the proposal, saying: “I think it’s on the record now to have more staff and higher pay”.  More on this from the Times can be found here.  This is an issue that we in Scotland will also have to respond to when setting up our own tax system.

It is often claimed that that the UK Government favours London and the south-east of England. This is another such claim.  The UK Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has faced criticism from property groups and retailers after his announcement that a revaluation of business rates has been pushed back to 2017.  The British Property Federation said that it was unfair to expect tenants to continue to pay a levy based on “top-of-the-market” 2008 rents. The UK Government argues however that a revaluation would lead to rate increases for many businesses, especially in the south-east.  More on this from Accountancy Age can be found here.

Now to a story that keeps bubbling up to the surface and clearly is not going away.  First it involved government officials such as the head of the Student Loans Company, then it was the BBC now it is teachers.  HMRC has said that supply teachers hired via recruitment agencies using off-shore firms are causing a shortfall in National Insurance contributions.  An HMRC spokesman said: “These kinds of arrangements are not compliant with tax and National Insurance legislation and the end client, or the employment businesses, may be liable for any underpaid tax and National Insurance”.  More on this from the BBC news website can be found here.

Anyone who regularly looks at HMRC press releases will see HMRC increasingly publicising stories such as this.  An Isle of Wight tax advisor who stole £52,000 by claiming tax repayments using his clients’ names was jailed today at Newport Crown Court.  The press release from HMRC can be found here.

Let’s end with matters slightly further afield.  Hong Kong has imposed a 15% emergency tax on foreign buyers of residential property in an attempt to hold back the island’s property bubble. Stamp duty for short-term speculators has also gone up from 15 to 20%.  Similar measures have been imposed by the Singaporean Government.  More on this from the excellent STEP Journal can be found here.

One last point.  Patriotism takes many forms and that includes paying your taxes.

Have a good week.

Let’s start with “Land Reform”.  The First Minister has set up a group of experts to look at this issue.  The First Minister wants the group “to deliver radical change” for both rural and urban areas.  It will be chaired by former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Dr Alison Elliot.  More information on the review can be found here.  One factor that is noticeable by its absence is taxation.  This should also be a review of how we tax our land and property.  If not included this is an opportunity missed.

Who is to blame for the state of the economy?  You would have though bankers might be high up on any list.  However, it seems there is another favoured suspect, tradesmen.  David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary at the UK Treasury, called people who pay tradesmen in cash “morally wrong”.  He has also claimed that the UK Government has missed out on about £2bn on taxes on these “off the books” transactions.

In response the regularly excellent Ian Bell wrote an article titled “Plumbers dodging VAT aren’t to blame for economic mess”.  His article in the Herald article can be found here.  This is one of the best articles I have read recently.

Gauke was also not helped when it transpired that Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have engaged in the practice of paying tradesmen cash.  Gauke’s full speech can be found here.

The tradesmen issue aside, there were many good things in Gauke’s speech.  This includes a new UK Treasury consultation paper on giving HMRC new powers to force tax firms to disclose clients who are using tax avoidance schemes.  A report on this from the BBC news website can be found here.  More information on this consultation can be found here.  It is though still surprising that the UK Treasury has taken so long to even consider measures such as this.

It is always worth putting figures in context.  A new study for the lobbying group Tax Justice Network claims that wealthy individuals worldwide are holding at least $21 trillion in bank accounts in low-tax jurisdictions.  This dwarfs the £2bn figure mentioned above.  A report on this from the STEP Journal can be found here.

Now to the Scottish Government’s consultation on its proposed Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.  The consultation can be found here.  The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax will replace the current UK Stamp Duty Land Tax from April 2015.  This is important as it is effectively the beginning of a Scottish tax system.  The consultation is also of a standard that we will now expect.   Previous papers on corporation tax and excise duty, although not consultations, were simply not good enough.  Lessons clearly have been learned.  The consultation ends on 30 August 2012.

Now to the North Sea.  George Osborne has pledged £500m in tax breaks for companies developing the Cygnus gas field in the North Sea.  In addition two Chinese firms announced major acquisitions worth over £10bn in North Sea oil firms.  More on these stories can be found on BBC news website here and the Press & Journal here.  It seems that there is a great deal of life left in the North Sea and not just in Scottish waters.

One of the most important art objects ever donated to Scotland’s national collection in lieu of inheritance tax has gone on display. The Hamilton-Rothschild Tazza, a Byzantine sardonyx bowl mounted on a 16th-century gold stand, came from the estate of Edmund de Rothschild, who died in 2009, under the “Acceptance in Lieu scheme”.  A report on this from the STV website can be found here.

Now to an issue I have blogged about before.  An investigation for the Sunday Herald has shown that due to the charitable status of fee-paying schools in Scotland, while local authority schools have to pay full non-domestic rates, because many fee-paying schools are charities they receive an 80 per cent discount on their rates.  The investigation suggests the discount has saved private schools in the six local authority areas investigated £10m over three years. An article on this issue from the Sunday Herald article can be found here.

This issue shows how complicated devolution can be.  Non-domestic rates and charitable status are devolved matters.  Tax relief for charities is a reserved matter even under the provisions of the 2012 Scotland Act. 

Interestingly in the same week Stephen Twigg, Shadow UK Education Secretary, has said that Labour may remove the charitable status of some private schools.  Twigg warned that a UK Labour Government could enact legislation so that private schools not serving the community would lose their charitable status.

The UK Government has finally confirmed that fuel duty, air passenger duty and road tax are not environmental taxes.  This means that they are “revenue raisers” pure and simple.  The UK Treasury now defines an environmental tax as a charge which is explicitly linked to Westminster’s environmental aims, aimed at promoting behaviour change and is structured so that people pay more based on the potential damage caused to the environment.  An article on this from Holyrood can be found here.

I think I will finish with China and its attempt to attract more foreign investment.  China has slashed from 10% to 5% the withholding taxes it levies on profits repatriated by foreign companies, and on dividends paid to foreign shareholders of Chinese-quoted shares. The concessions apply only to companies based in double tax treaty partner countries, excluding the US.  A FT China article on this can be found here.

Have a good weekend.

The Scottish Government consultation can be found here.  The consultation paper seeks views on the Scottish Government’s proposals for a Land and Buildings Transaction Tax for Scotland to replace the current UK Stamp Duty Land Tax from April 2015.

This is important as it is effectively the beginning of a Scottish tax system.  

The consultation is also of a standard that we will now expect.   Previsous papers on corporation tax and excise duty, although not consultations, were simply not good enough.  Lessons clearly have been learned. 

The consultation ends on 30 August 2012.