Two new Members have been appointed to the Board of Scotland's tax authority, Revenue Scotland.
The appointment of Jean Lindsay, a former Director of Human Resources at the Forestry Commission, and Martin McEwen, currently the Head of Tax at SSE Plc, have been confirmed by Minister for Public Finance and the Digital Economy, Kate Forbes.
They join Revenue Scotland's existing Board Members Dr Keith Nicholson (Chair), Jane Ryder, John Whiting, Ian Tait and Lynn Bradley.
Welcoming the appointments, Dr Nicholson said Mrs Lindsay and Mr McEwen would strengthen the depth and range of experience of the Board, supporting and enabling its function to provide leadership and direction for the tax authority as it delivered its Corporate Plan strategic priorities, as well as its longer term work.
He said: "Mrs Lindsay and Mr McEwen will be a real asset to Revenue Scotland. Mrs Lindsay has strategic, long-term experience in people development, change management and corporate governance in the public sector and also brings insight and knowledge of large-scale transformational and cultural change gained first-hand.
"Mr McEwen has a long career spanning a range of taxes at a strategic level in the commercial sector, both with SSE and at PWC before that. His leadership and notable work in tax transparency and responsible corporate taxpayer behaviour, both topics which he regularly gives talks on, will provide Revenue Scotland with an important knowledge base for our ongoing work in these areas.
Responding to the appointment, Mrs Lindsay said: "It is a real honour to be joining the Board of Revenue Scotland. It is a young and dynamic organisation which has already achieved a great deal in its relatively short history. I look forward to joining the existing Board Members and being able to bring my experiences in areas such as people development, change management and large-scale organisational change."
Mr McEwen said: "I am really looking forward to applying my background and experience in a range of domestic and international tax matters in my roles at SSE and at PMW. It is great to be joining Scotland's tax authority - an organisation that has already built up a positive reputation in areas including tax transparency, collaboration, data sharing and promoting responsible behaviour among taxpayers. These are areas where I can use my own knowledge to provide support and advice.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Revenue Scotland is a Non-Ministerial Department responsible for the administration and collection of Scotland's devolved taxes - Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). Further information is available at www.revenue.scot.
Jean Lindsey was previously the Director of Human Resources at the Forestry Commission, responsible for the strategic leadership of its people. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and has experience in leadership, strategic people management, change management and corporate governance within the public sector. She has successfully led transformational change programmes which include organisational restructure, TUPE transfers and culture change. Mrs Lindsay splits her time between Edinburgh and north east Fife.
Martin McEwen is the Head of Tax at SSE Plc. He joined the company in 2008 after a number of years at PWC, initially to manage international tax matters for the group, before taking on responsibility for all taxes. Martin was instrumental in SSE becoming the first FTSE 100 company to obtain Fair Tax Mark accreditation, and is a regular speaker on tax transparency and responsible corporate taxpayer behaviour. He is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser, and has sat on both the Scottish Taxes Committee and Corporate Tax Committee at ICAS.
The appointments have also been publicised on the Appointed for Scotland website.
The appointments of the new Board Members are regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland and run for three years from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022.
REMUNERATION
The appointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £280.50 per day for a time commitment of up to 12 days a year.
OTHER MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS
Mrs Lindsay is a Member of the Crown Estate Scotland (Interim Management) Board, for which she receives remuneration of £207 per day for a time commitment of two days per month.
Mr McEwen does not hold any other public appointments.
POLITICAL ACTIVITY
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity within the last five years to be public.
Mrs Lindsay and Mr McEwen have had no political activity in the last five years.