Revenue Scotland has collected £572m in its first full year of operation.
Scotland’s devolved tax authority, which is responsible for the administration and collection of Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT), revealed the total revenue raised when it published its 2015-2016 annual report and financial statements today. The revenue collected is transferred to the Scottish Consolidated Fund to support the delivery of public services in Scotland.
During the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, £425m was collected through LBTT and £147m from SLfT. Almost all (98%) of the 115,000 tax returns received in 2015-16 were submitted through the new online Scottish Electronic Tax System (SETS).
Revenue Scotland Chairman, Dr Keith Nicholson, praised the recent achievements. He said: “The first full year of operation for Revenue Scotland has been hugely successful. Setting up Scotland’s devolved tax authority is no small feat and is a real testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff.
“I am particularly pleased that in its first year the organisation collected £572m through the devolved taxes and established a robust online tax system which has already exceeded expectations and received widespread praise.
“These achievements are a clear signal to the Scottish taxpayer that Revenue Scotland is operating efficiently and effectively as Scotland’s devolved tax authority.”
The total revenue collected through LBTT and SLfT during the reporting period comprised:
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Land and Building transaction Tax - £424,874,000
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Scottish Landfill Tax - £147,045,000
Notes to editors
Revenue Scotland was established through the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014 (RSTPA) and is the Non-Ministerial Department responsible for the administration and collection of Scotland’s devolved taxes – currently Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). These taxes came into effect on 1 April 2015, replacing their UK equivalents (Stamp Duty Land Tax and UK Landfill Tax respectively).
Other key achievements delivered by Revenue Scotland during its first full year of operation include:
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98.1% of 2015-16 tax returns submitted electronically via SETS, significantly exceeding an initial target of 90%;
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Average waiting time of 10 seconds for calls to the Revenue Scotland support team;
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96% of all written communication responded to within 10 working days;
In addition to the £572m of tax collected, Revenue Scotland raised a further £311,000 during the 2015-2016 reporting period through penalties and interest. £297,000 was raised for penalties including late registration, late returns and late payments. £14,000 was raised through interest from penalties charged.
Of the total tax collected, £509.7m was paid to the Scottish Consolidated Fund during the 2015-16 reporting period.
A further £62.4m is due to be paid to the Scottish Consolidated Fund for the 2015-2016 reporting period. This comprises:
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£8.5m in Receivables – taxpayer liabilities assessed as due during the reporting period, including penalties, but not paid by 31 March 2016;
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Accrued Revenue Receivable – taxpayer liabilities, including penalties and interest, relating to the reporting period but for which the liability was not assessed by 31 March 2016;
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£9m received from taxpayers but which had not cleared the banking process by 31 March 2016.
Revenue Scotland operating costs for administering the collection of taxes during 2015-2016 was £4.67m. This was less than the Scottish Government’s original £4.81m budget allocation for the organisation. The total operating cost represents 0.9% of the total tax collected during 2015-2016.