Corporate Plan 2024-2027

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Introduction

We are delighted to present our Corporate Plan for 2024-27.

This Corporate Plan sets out our aspirations for the future, with a focus on four strategic outcomes which underpin our priorities for the next three years: Operational Excellence, Investing in our People, Working with Others and Expanding Horizons.

Since 2015, Revenue Scotland has been responsible for collecting over £6 billion from devolved taxes which have been used to help fund vital public services in Scotland. We have managed the devolved tax system in a highly efficient and effective way, with a digital-first mindset and a group of professionals who operate to the highest standards.

Despite the many challenges faced in Scotland in recent years, we have designed and delivered a service that costs under one penny for every pound of tax we collect. This is a great testament to the dedication of our team. Over the next three years, we want to ensure that operational efficiency, delivered by our committed staff, remains at the core of what we do.

We will continue to play our part in supporting the Scottish Government on tax policy and legislation matters. With the introduction of Scottish Aggregates Tax in 2026 and the potential of a Scottish Building Safety Levy, we will ensure we have the systems in place that will allow effective implementation within agreed timelines. Both taxes will allow further collaboration with local authorities and other stakeholders across Scotland, and this is likely to offer more opportunities to enhance services
for the benefit of the public.

We want to ensure Revenue Scotland is a transparent and accessible organisation and we are committed to providing clear guidance, offering enhanced support for those who require additional help as they interact with us. We will involve taxpayers in the design and testing of our approach, systems and website.
As we enhance our digital systems, we will embrace the opportunities that technology can deliver, ensuring robust security and data confidentiality, while delivering the efficiencies that will improve our services.

By investing in our culture and professional development, we have secured high satisfaction scores in our annual people survey. As an inclusive employer, we will continue to invest in our staff, offering rewarding careers for all and embracing diversity, where everyone can bring their best self to work.

We want to continue to build on this success and will enhance our digital and data capabilities alongside our tax expertise so that everyone at Revenue Scotland has the chance to enhance their skillsets for the future.
We will continue to deepen our relationships and learning from all our stakeholders and actively engage in Public Service Reform as a ‘sector connector’ across the Scottish Administration.

We move forward from a strong base where we have demonstrated resilience, innovation and consistency in the way we operate and as we reach out to help deliver high quality public services, we do so with confidence and a determination to be an exemplar public body.

Our Key Successes and Milestones since 2015

2015-16

Launch: Revenue Scotland established; first devolved tax returns received

Awards: Our Tax Administration Programme wins 3 awards for its success

2016-17

Programme delivery: Additional Dwelling Supplement is successfully delivered

Devolved taxation: Scotland Act 2016 devolves competence for Scottish Aggregates Tax

2017-18

Networking: Revenue Scotland establishes the British Isles Tax Authority Forum, bringing tax authorities together

Award: Revenue Scotland achieves Official Statistics status

2018-19

Legislative change: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, First-time Buyer Relief introduced

Transparency: Revenue Scotland publishes its Tax Compliance Strategy

Digital: Cyber Security Accreditation achieved

2019-20

Digital: The Scottish Electronic Tax System 2 (SETS 2) for devolved taxes goes live

People: People Strategy launched, transforming our approach to organisational development

2020-21

Legislative change: Temporary measures delivered to support taxpayers during the pandemic

Building capability: Launched Modular Scottish Tax Education Programme for staff, with innovative ways of learning

2021-22

Operating model: Hybrid working pilot commences

Digital and equalities: Redesigned website achieves Digital First standards for accessibility

2022-23

Tax milestone: £6 billion devolved taxes revenues collected since 2015

Operating model: Tailored hybrid working approach adopted as the Revenue Scotland operating model

Equalities and inclusion: Enhanced Support Policy launched for people who need support as they engage with us

2023-24

Audit: Revenue Scotland receives ‘substantial assurance’ for a further year from Audit Scotland; all KPIs met

People: Revenue Scotland achieves outstanding People Survey results

Policy: Supporting Scottish Government with the introduction of a Scottish Aggregates Tax Bill

Legislative change: Delivered new measures for the Additional Dwelling Supplement

Our Purpose

To efficiently and effectively collect and manage the devolved taxes which fund public services for the benefit of the people of Scotland.

Our Vision

To be:
• an exemplar in providing an excellent service to our taxpayers
• trusted by our partners to deliver innovative digital revenue services and support the development of policy
• a progressive public body, and
• an employer of choice.

Our staff's view of the future of Revenue Scotland

Revenue Scotland staff were asked to think about words that resonated with them for their vision forthe future.
This is the collection of the words they shared, weighted by size according to the frequency of response, demonstrating their ambition for, and commitment to, the organisation.

Strategic Outcomes for 2024-2027

Revenue Scotland has made great strides since it was established in 2015. We are a dynamic organisation, capable of being agile and flexible, willing to try new ideas and approaches. 

We have assessed our strengths and areas where we need to develop, upcoming priorities in tax and new ways of working. This analysis has enabled us to set out in this Corporate Plan the priorities for improvement and change beyond what we already do which will make the most impact upon our organisation and the tax environment in Scotland. 

To continue to build on our foundation of achievement, we will focus on four strategic outcomes as developmental areas, shaped from our past experiences, successes and aspirations for the future.

Operational Excellence

Our ambition is to be a digital and data driven organisation, with robust systems for both taxpayers and staff, to enable accurate and efficient collection of tax.

Investing in our People

We aim to have an informed, highly skilled, and diverse staff and Board, able to perform to the best of their ability, delivering success for the organisation.

Working with Others

As Scotland’s Tax Authority, we aim to establish new connections with others working in new and existing national and local taxes in Scotland and beyond. As a public body, committed to transparency, we will support the Public Service Reform agenda and share our experience of efficiently and effectively delivering public services.

Expanding Horizons

Collaborating with our partners and stakeholders, we aim to actively support the development of policy and legislation for new and existing national and local taxes.

Operational Excellence

We have a level of agility to make ongoing improvements at a fast pace, and with creativity. Over the next three years we will continue our work to become exemplary by improving our digital systems and support to taxpayers, better utilising the data we collect, and streamlining our processes.

Strategic Outcome

Our ambition is to be a digital and data driven organisation, with robust systems for both taxpayers and staff, to enable accurate and efficient collection of tax.

We will achieve this outcome by:

1. Improving the guidance available to taxpayers - Work with taxpayers to improve guidance, webinars, and systems design to enable taxpayers to comply with their obligations.
2. Optimising our digital architecture - Create a single end-to-end digital tax service, which is modular by design to provide resilience and flexibility to make better use of data and administer additional taxes.
3. Increasing use of automated processes and reporting - Improve our efficiency and effectiveness of our processes, enhance reporting capability and enable our staff to spend more time on fulfilling work.
4.  Designing user-centric systems - Collaborate with users of our systems to gather insights, ensuring they have an excellent experience as they engage with us and our systems.

Success measures

1. A tax collection rate (i.e. tax collected as a proportion of tax declared) of 99% or more
2. A cost of collection ratio of 1% or less
3. A service user satisfaction score of 75% or higher

Investing in our People

Our staff are at the heart of our ambitions to be an exemplar organisation. We have worked hard to ensure that we are a welcoming, inclusive employer of choice, with a culture of openness, collaboration, integrity, and learning. Our ambitions do not stop there; we intend to be known for being an excellent organisation to work in, attracting and retaining talented employees.

Strategic Outcome

We aim to have an informed, highly skilled, and diverse staff and Board, able to perform to the best of their ability, delivering success for the organisation.

We will achieve this outcome by:

1. Developing our capabilities - Ensuring all our staff have the right skills to succeed with a focus on leadership skills, deepening tax knowledge, and digital and data literacy.
2. Creating personalised career development plans for staff - Ensuring everyone can succeed in their role and supporting them in their career ambitions. Seeking opportunities for secondments, both outgoing and incoming.
3. Prioritising Equalities Diversity and Inclusion - Attracting diverse talent into our inclusive organisation, where everyone can bring their whole self to work.
4. Empowering our Staff - Giving our staff autonomy, the tools for a healthy work-life balance, being transparent, and showing recognition.

Success measures

4. An annual People Survey score in the top 25% of Civil Service organisations
5. Evidence Revenue Scotland has taken action to expand the diversity of the workforce and Board, to advance equality of opportunity

Working with Others

We already work closely with our stakeholders and partners on policy and legislation for devolved taxes and participate in shared
learning. Building on our experience, we will work across other areas of taxation in Scotland and beyond, to share learning and
develop new ideas. We will actively engage in Public Service Reform work to learn from others and share learning by providing case studies of our activities.

Strategic Outcome 

As Scotland’s tax authority, we aim to establish new connections with others working in new and existing national and local taxes in Scotland and beyond.
As a public body, committed to transparency, we will support the Public Service Reform agenda and share our experience of efficiently and effectively delivering public services.

We will achieve this outcome by:

1. Sharing learning on devolved taxation - Through building our partnerships and networks we will continue to collaborate
   and work together on shared goals.
2. Playing a 'sector connector’ role -  We will establish new connections, bringing people together, offering new opportunities for collaborative working in tax across the UK and beyond.
3. Leading the way in Public Service Reform - We will embrace change, supporting others by sharing our learning and showcasing our digital services and shared service model.

Success measures
 

6. Case studies will provide evidence Revenue Scotland is actively engaging with national and local authorities to share tax knowledge
7. Case studies will provide evidence Revenue Scotland is actively engaging with the Scottish Government and other public bodies to support Scotland’s Public Service Reform ambitions

Expanding Horizons

We will work in partnership with the Scottish Government to develop new devolved taxes - Scottish Aggregates Tax (SAT) and the proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy (SBSL) - and on proposals to review and amend the legislation for the existing devolved taxes in the light of operational experience. Aligning with existing partnership principles, we will bring people together and offer support on policy and legislation in other areas of taxation in Scotland, including local taxes.

Strategic Outcome

Collaborating with our partners and stakeholders, we aim to actively support the development of policy and legislation for new and existing national and local taxes.

We will achieve this outcome by:

1. Working in Partnership with Scottish Government

   Developing and delivering new devolved taxes - We will support the development of SAT and the proposed SBSL. Our delivery programmes will ensure readiness for their introduction.

   Reviewing devolved taxes legislation - We will work with Scottish Government to review legislation for existing taxes in light of operational experience.

2. Supporting development of local taxes - We will offer our insights on digital services and tax collection and compliance, we will support the development of tax policy and legislation.

Success measures

8. Evidence Revenue Scotland has actively worked in partnership with the Scottish Government to develop and deliver new devolved taxes will be reported each year in the Annual Report and Accounts
9. Evidence Revenue Scotland has contributed knowledge and supported the development of new and existing local taxes will be reported each year in the Annual Report and Accounts

Summary of Success Measures

Wider Context - Supporting the National Outcome

The Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework is for all of Scotland. It supports a shared way of working and asks everyone to work together to help to improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

The revenues we collect are used to fund public services in Scotland and support the delivery of the National Outcomes.

Our key purpose is to collect and manage devolved taxes in support of a fiscally sustainable Scotland.

Our collection and management of Scottish Landfill Tax supports environmental objectives in relation to waste disposal.

Revenue Scotland also recognises the National Outcomes as a public body and as an employer.

The National Performance Framework is currently under review, after which Revenue Scotland will look to adapt to any relevant changes.

Financial Plan

The financial plan sets out estimates of the costs to meet the aspirations set out in this Corporate Plan.

The Revenue Scotland budget is set annually. The financial projections associated with this Corporate Plan therefore, are estimates which are subject to change.

The budget estimates include programme and capital costs associated with the introduction of Scottish Aggregates Tax and indicative costs for the proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy.

Revenue Scotland - Equalities Mainstreaming report 2024-2028

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Foreword

In Revenue Scotland, we strive for equality, diversity, and inclusion to be part of our DNA. We want to create a culture where we truly celebrate our diversity, embrace our inclusivity, and achieve better equality for everyone.

That is why we set ourselves targeted equality outcomes to guide our efforts from 2020-2024 to continue to embed equality across all of Revenue Scotland’s activities as both a service provider and employer.

This report shows the journey that we have been on over that period. It is interspersed with many and varied stories from our staff showing our continued commitment to developing and integrating equality, diversity and inclusion in our culture and behaviours, so that it is integral to our day-to-day work and decision making. The stories demonstrate how much these efforts
mean to our staff, and how much value there is in striving to make our organisation as diverse and inclusive a place as it can be.

Of course, we know that our endeavours must continue. There are areas we need to work on further so that the organisation can become truly representative of the people we serve. We are committed to making ongoing improvements in those areas

We all have work to do to achieve and maintain this standard. Mainstreaming outcomes, and the legal duties that underpin them, are an important part of that. Our mainstreaming outcomes for 2024-2028, aligned with our Corporate Plan for 2024-2027, will serve as a guide and goal for us over the next four years and will ensure that Revenue Scotland continues to work hard to ensure that we meet the needs of all the people we serve.

Elaine Lorimer, Chief Executive
28 March 2024

Designation of the Inverness and Cromarty Green Freeport Tax Sites

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Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) changes from 1 April 2024

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Careers at Revenue Scotland

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Revenue Scotland introduces Recite Me accessibility tools online

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Simon Cunningham reappointed to the Revenue Scotland board

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Appendix C - Data Quality and Further Information

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All data were extracted as at 31 May 2023 but, in keeping with Revenue Scotland’s revisions policy, some of the data relating to earlier years has not been updated. For LBTT and SLfT, only data for 2021/22 onwards has been updated (and for sub-Scotland geographies, only the most recent year was updated).

Reliefs

There are various data quality issues with reliefs information collected from LBTT returns in previous years, although these issues do not affect the total LBTT declared due. 

The most common data quality issue affecting total revenue foregone to reliefs is that, prior to the introduction of a new electronic tax system in July 2019, 4% of taxpayers claiming reliefs incorrectly entered the value of the relief claimed as the full consideration - e.g. the total price of the property – rather than the LBTT amount that would be due without reliefs. This means that simply summing the value of reliefs claimed on tax returns would overstate the value of LBTT revenue forgone to reliefs. The LBTT revenue forgone to reliefs needs to be estimated from other information provided by the taxpayer, and hence the results presented are referred to as estimates. Full details of the methods used to produce the estimates can be found on the LBTT data requests section⁵ of the Revenue Scotland website.

From 2015/16 to 2018/19, the relief amount was estimated in this way for 10% of returns claiming a relief. Recent improvements to the tax system have reduced the need to estimate the relief amount, and in 2020/21, the relief amount was estimated for 1% of returns.

It is also worth noting that the estimates are likely to underestimate ADS (and consequently LBTT) revenue forgone to reliefs to some extent. ADS is due on most purchases of a residential property by a non-natural person, such as a company. When a full relief is claimed reducing the LBTT liability to nil, in some cases the ADS has not been declared (rather than declared and reduced to nil by relief). Therefore, although the tax position is correct, it is likely that data on reliefs for residential transactions will underestimate ADS revenues forgone. There is a similar issue where a non-residential transaction contains a mixture of residential and commercial elements (‘mixed’ property transactions are treated as non-residential transactions for LBTT). Again, the overall tax position for the relevant transactions remains correct.

Notes on LBTT returns

The LBTT legislation prescribes that an LBTT return must be submitted and arrangements made for payment of the LBTT due to Revenue Scotland before the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland can proceed with registration of title. The LBTT return includes a range of information about the transaction, tax liabilities and reliefs claimed. Amendments and corrections can be made to LBTT returns up to one year following the filing date. This may lead to revisions to the LBTT data in this publication. The vast majority of LBTT returns are submitted online via the Revenue Scotland website by agents acting on behalf of taxpayers.

Appendix B Comparison of Published Statistics with Revenue Scotland’s Annual Report and Financial Statements

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The purpose of this appendix is to explain how Revenue Scotland’s monthly LBTT statistics, quarterly SLfT statistics, and annual statistics (this publication) relate to the revenue figures that appear in the Devolved Taxes Account in Revenue Scotland’s Annual Report and Financial Statements (referred to in this annex as the Annual Report). The figures in the statistics and Annual Report are produced on a different basis.

Appendix B (i) - comparison of LBTT statistics with published accounts

Whereas the figures in the Annual Report are, by their nature, fixed for a given year (at the point at which the accounts are closed), the published statistics are updated on a monthly basis with changes largely reflecting ADS reclaims (and some other amendments) which have been received after the original LBTT tax returns were submitted.

The Annual Report and published statistics are both based on the date the LBTT return is submitted but with some adjustments made to the Annual Report³ to accrue revenue for LBTT returns (and claims for repayment of ADS) received in April and May (after the end of the financial year) with an effective date (or sale date for the previous main residence) relating to the previous financial year or earlier. These April/May adjustments typically result in relatively small differences between the Annual Report and published statistics, although the difference was more pronounced in the first year of LBTT (2015/16) because there were no reverse accruals relating to the previous year.

Differences in reported figures are mainly due to the different treatments of claims for repayment of ADS in the Annual Report and published statistics. This annex focuses on differences arising due to the different treatments of claims for repayment of ADS and is intended to help the reader make meaningful comparisons between the two sources of financial information.

The published statistics allocate claims for repayment of ADS to the period in which the LBTT return (with ADS declared due) was originally submitted. The accounts published in the Annual Report typically allocate claims for repayment of ADS to the accounting year in which the claim for repayment was received. For example, a claim for repayment of ADS received in June 2019 relating to an LBTT return originally received in March 2019 would be allocated to March 2019 (2018/19) in the published statistics and to 2019/20 in the Annual Report. This repayment could not be allocated to 2018/19 in the accounts because the 2018/19 accounts were closed as at 31 May 2019.

Table 15: LBTT excluding ADS and gross ADS declared due and the value of ADS repayments claimed by year the LBTT return/claim for repayment was received and the year the claim relates to

Key figures in Table 15 that help illustrate the different treatment of claims for repayment of ADS are the £2.2 million and £17.2 million of claims for repayment of ADS received in 2022/23 relating to LBTT returns initially received in 2020/21 and 2021/22, respectively (and to a lesser extent, the £1.1 million relating to 2019/20). In the published statistics these claims do not result in any adjustment to the net ADS declared due in 2022/23. However, the net ADS reported in the statistics against 2020/21 and 2021/22 is revised (reduced) to reflect these claims as they relate to ADS originally declared on LBTT returns received in those financial years.

In the Annual Report, these repayments are reported as reductions in revenue in 2022/23 as they were received after the accounting periods for 2020/21 and 2021/22 were closed, and hence the accounts for 2020/21 and 2021/22 are not revised. Therefore, to compare the published statistics for LBTT relating to 2022/23 (as at the 31^st March 2023) with the LBTT revenue reported in Revenue Scotland’s 2022/23 Annual Report (accounts), the ADS repayment claims received during 2022/23 relating to earlier years (£1.1 million for 2019/20, £2.2 million for 2020/21 and £17.2 million for 2021/22) should be deducted from the statistics⁴.
 

Appendix A - Date of submission versus effective date

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Revenue Scotland’s monthly LBTT statistics and the data in this publication are based on the date the LBTT return is submitted to Revenue Scotland. Generally this is different from the effective date (generally the data that a land transaction is completed) as taxpayers have 30 days from the effective date to submit their LBTT return. It can take up to eight weeks from the effective date for the majority (99%) of LBTT returns to be submitted, whereas no such time lag exists for data produced by date of submission. Revenue Scotland is aware of interest in data by effective date but there are good reasons to publish statistics by submission date.

• Publishing data based on the submission date rather than the effective date allows Revenue Scotland to publish monthly LBTT statistics in a timely manner.
• The data will be subject to revision only as a result of changes to the LBTT returns submitted (e.g. a claim for repayment of ADS) and not as a result of the submission of LBTT returns relating to an earlier period (which would be the case for statistics produced by effective date).
• Published statistics include actual values rather than estimates for the most recent months.
• Trends observed in the published data will be broadly the same as those on an effective date basis, with the largest deviations occurring at the ends of the series and near policy changes.

It is worth noting that the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) typically requests data by effective date, which it uses to produce and evaluate forecasts of LBTT revenue. The data provided allows the SFC to more accurately examine the impact of significant events, e.g. policy changes. The data includes LBTT returns with an effective date up to and including the month two months prior to the date on which the data was extracted from the tax system. Revenue Scotland subsequently publishes the data provided to the SFC on the LBTT data requests section of its website.