Meeting of the Revenue Scotland Board
Board Strategy Session – 5 February 2025
10:00 till 14:00
| Status | Name |
|---|---|
| Present |
Aidan O’Carroll, Chair Simon Cunningham Jean Lindsay Ken Macintosh Robert MacIntosh (morning session) Martin McEwen |
| In attendance |
Louise Alonzi, Head of Tax Operations Lorraine Clayton, Secretariat Neil Ferguson, Head of Corporate Functions Mairi Gibson, Head of Legal Services Elaine Lorimer, Chief Executive Callum MacInnes, Head of Governance Brendan Macrae, Head of Tax Compliance and Professionalism Craig Morton, Head of IT Naomi Pal, Head of Strategy and Communications Stephen Ramsay, Co-opted Member of ARC |
1. Meeting opening
1.1 The Revenue Scotland Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, in particular Stephen Ramsay who was attending his first Revenue Scotland meeting as a co-opted member of the Audit and Risk Committee. He explained that the strategy meeting was an opportunity to take a strategic look at the organisation, its operating environment and the opportunities on the horizon.
Apologies
1.2 Apologies were received from Idong Usoro and Michael Paterson, Head of Tax. Robert McIntosh was present for discussions for the morning session only.
Declarations of Interest
1.3 Ken Macintosh informed attendees that he had recently taken up a new position as an advisor to the learning disability charity Enable but that he did not envisage this giving rise to any conflicts in respect of his role with Revenue Scotland.
1.4 No other declarations of interest were raised.
2. Strategic Context and Understanding our Ambitions
2.1 The Head of Corporate Functions introduced the agenda and introduced the first session. He summarised the key points from the PESTLE analysis undertaken ahead of the session and outlined the tax environment within which Revenue Scotland operates.
2.2 The Chief Executive elaborated on the complexities inherent within the tax system. She outlined the key stakeholders and the work that Revenue Scotland had undertaken to build relationships with them.
2.3 The Revenue Scotland Chair invited attendees to take a more strategic look at the organisation and the opportunities on the horizon. He encouraged attendees to question what more Revenue Scotland could do to enhance the way in which the tax system in Scotland operates.
2.4 Board Members commended the positive reputation for delivery that Revenue Scotland had built and the efforts made to build relationships across the tax system. This was seen as the first step and the challenge from the Board was how to become more influential and impactful. They highlighted the need to build coalitions of support and to target resources to where they could have the greatest impact and effect change.
2.5 Members emphasised the need to build a narrative that set out the wider contribution the organisation could make to the tax system in Scotland if given the opportunity and powers to do so and the role that partners and champions could play in support of this.
2.6 The Revenue Scotland Chair summarised the discussion, re-iterating that the organisation had got to a good place and that there was a collective desire for Revenue Scotland to become more influential and impactful in order to support the delivery of its ambitions. As part of this, there would be a need to form a view as to where to best direct resources in order to increase our impact with stakeholders.
3. Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges
3.1 Attendees split into two groups to consider the opportunities and challenges related to Revenue Scotland seeking to take a more prominent role in leading the development and delivery of new and existing Scottish taxes. Members considered two options. The first was to be an ‘engaged’ tax authority which grew organically, shaped proposals for, and delivery of, new and existing taxes, and also pursued new powers for providing services to others (for example local authorities). The second option was for Revenue Scotland to become a ‘leader’ for Scottish taxes, informing or developing a digital delivery landscape that enables data sharing, identifying connections and efficiencies across a range of taxes and other key interactions. A possible model for delivery in both options might be to start small, with partners in pilot areas, to allow for scaling up to a Scotland-wide approach.
3.2 The Board discussed that the organisation was already in the ‘engaged’ tax authority space. Members expressed their ambition that Revenue Scotland should work to move beyond this towards being the ‘leader for Scottish taxes’. There was also a clear desire to look beyond the devolved taxes to see where Revenue Scotland could add wider value to improve efficiency across Scotland’s tax system.
3.3 Key points raised in the discussions included:
- the importance of collecting, analysing and sharing data across organisations as the tax environment grows in complexity and the need to develop the skill sets to support this;
- the constraints of being a small organisation and the need, therefore, to target resources to where they could deliver the greatest benefits;
- the opportunities presented through new taxes and political developments;
- the benefits of convening meetings and events to build support and in coordinating cross-organisation projects;
- the constraints posed by electoral cycles;
- the risks of not having a view on proposed new taxes and the need to have a clearly defined offer. It was noted that criteria to guide consideration of new taxes had previously been developed and would benefit from a review;
- the opportunity to use Board members more pro-actively; and
- the need to align with wider trends e.g. digital IDs etc.
3.4 Members emphasised the need to develop a clear vision for how the tax system could work better and articulating this in a compelling way. This would enable Revenue Scotland to respond positively to opportunities as they arose. It was noted that a set of criteria had previously been developed to guide decisions around new taxes and that these could be reviewed to assist with this.
4. Rethinking Scotland’s Tax Infrastructure
4.1 The Head of Corporate Functions introduced the concept of developing a single portal that could transform the user experience for taxpayers, through offering them to opportunity to ‘tell us once’ and to use a single route/sign-on to pay multiple taxes to government.
4.2 The Board welcomed the concept, which aligned with the broader Public Service Reform Agenda, and discussed the importance of working with partners on such a concept. It was noted that whilst Revenue Scotland would be a key partner in such a project it may not be best placed to lead it.
4.3 Consideration was also given to how such a concept could be ‘scaled up’ and built in order to facilitate growth over time and how this would link in to the replacement of SETS, which would be happening in any event. It was suggested that a partnership with Registers of Scotland and Scottish Government in the first instance could be a good place to start.
4.4 Members noted that there would be a need to have a clear understanding of the outcomes being sought and to be able to clearly articulate the benefits it would deliver.
4.5 The Revenue Scotland Chair summarised that there was support for the principle and the benefits it would bring for taxpayers across Scotland but also agreement that Revenue Scotland would probably not be the lead partner. The next steps would be to discuss the idea with Registers of Scotland and the Scottish Government Digital Directorate to seek their views on the proposal.
5. Conclusion
5.1 The Chair thanked everyone for their input and ideas in what had been a hugely insightful meeting, noting the great progress that was made.