Gavin Brown

21 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many senior staff will be employed by Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09207 on 19 September 2012. We have recently announced the appointment of the interim head for Revenue Scotland. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the se…

21 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff will be employed by Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The precise number of staff to be employed by Revenue Scotland will be confirmed in due course.

21 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08856 by John Swinney on 16 August 2012, on which page of the document the information requested can be found.

Answer · John Swinney: The document I placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre sets out the high-level costs for the delivery of the devolved taxes.

21 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08425 by John Swinney on 7 August 2012, what marginal movement in terms of timescales was experienced by the (a) Forth Replacement Crossing, (b) Victoria and Albert waterfront project, (c) Port Edgar project and (d) Stromness Harbour extension proje…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government budget is managed flexibly across all projects and portfolios to ensure the spend achieves the maximum benefit for the Scottish people. Within the overall budget, the only financial implication of marginal movements in timescales for i…

27 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was collected through non-domestic rates in (a) April, (b) May, (c) June and (d) July 2012.

Answer · John Swinney: Non-domestic rates income projections are subject to regular monitoring throughout the course of the financial year as part of the normal budget cycle process as more up-to-date data becomes available to check that the forecasts remain on track. If any adjust…

27 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its projected figure is for the amount to be collected through non-domestic rates in 2012-13, broken down by month.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has estimated that local authorities will collect non-domestic rates totalling £2,263 million in respect of 2012-13 as set out in Table 16.01 of the Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13. Non-domestic rates income proj…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the legal costs of setting up Revenue Scotland will be.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051) which sets out the projected costs of Revenue Scotland.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its projected (a) set-up and (b) running costs of Revenue Scotland have been verified independently.

Answer · John Swinney: The projected costs for Revenue Scotland have been estimated in line with usual procedures.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has carried out of the costs of Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: A full analysis of the anticipated costs of Revenue Scotland has been carried out. These are set out in the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051).

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget for designing Revenue Scotland's (a) logo and (b) other branding materials will be.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the estimated costs for Revenue Scotland which I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051). This document sets out the anticipated staff and non-staff costs.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many offices Revenue Scotland will have.

Answer · John Swinney: It is anticipated that Revenue Scotland, once set up, will be based initially on the existing Scottish Government estate.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual property costs for Revenue Scotland will be.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the estimated costs of Revenue Scotland which I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051).

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will spend on recruitment for Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Costs for recruitment to Revenue Scotland are included within the estimated staff costs, set out in the document that I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051). Any recruitment will be carried out in line with Scottish Go…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Revenue Scotland will tackle tax evasion.

Answer · John Swinney: The issue of tax evasion is one that I take most seriously. The Scottish Government will consult on appropriate measures to combat tax evasion as part of the consultation on tax management that I have announced for later this year. Revenue Scotland will wor…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many compliance officers Revenue Scotland will have.

Answer · John Swinney: The staffing structure for Revenue Scotland will be finalised in due course.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the remuneration of Revenue Scotland's most senior employee will be.

Answer · John Swinney: Estimated staff costs for Revenue Scotland are set out in the document I placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051). Remuneration will be set in line with the Scottish Government’s pay policy.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of pensions for Revenue Scotland staff will be.

Answer · John Swinney: The pension costs of Revenue Scotland staff are expected to be aligned with the pension costs of Scottish Government staff. These costs are included in the projected costs for Revenue Scotland that I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the projected non-staffing costs for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency regarding the (a) setting up and (b) running of the systems associated with the collection of the (i) land and buildings transaction tax and (ii) replacement landfill ta…

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051). The Scottish Environment Protection Agency will not have responsibility for collection of the land and buildings transaction tax.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the projected staffing costs for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency regarding the (a) setting up and (b) running of the systems associated with the collection of the (i) land and buildings transaction tax and (ii) replacement landfill tax.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051). The Scottish Environment Protection Agency will not have responsibility for collection of the land and buildings transaction tax.

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the projected non-staffing costs for the (a) setting up and (b) running of Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 54051).

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the projected non-staffing costs for the Registers of Scotland regarding the (a) setting up and (b) running of the systems associated with the collection of the (i) land and buildings transaction tax and (ii) replacement landfill tax.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, (Bib number 54051). Registers of Scotland will not be responsible for the collection of the replacement for Landfill Tax; that responsibility lies with the Scotti…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the projected staffing costs for the Registers of Scotland regarding the (a) setting up and (b) running of the systems associated with the collection of the (i) land and buildings transaction tax and (ii) replacement landfill tax.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051). Registers of Scotland will not be responsible for the collection of the replacement for Landfill Tax; that responsibility lies with the Scotti…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the projected staffing costs for the (a) setting up and (b) running of Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliaments Information Centre (Bib. number 54051).

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost will be of establishing Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051).

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of establishing Revenue Scotland's IT system.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I have placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051).

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence supports its statement in Taking forward a Scottish Land and Buildings Transaction Tax that it "examined carefully the option of contracting the work to [HM Revenue and Customs]."

Answer · John Swinney: In line with standard practice, Scottish Government officials assessed and evaluated the emerging options for collection of the devolved taxes including estimates based on information from HMRC of the costs of HMRC administering a tax “like for like” with Sta…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with business and industry representatives regarding the creation of Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-07796 on 20 June 2012. Further discussion has taken place during the consultation events on the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliame…

25 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) correspondence and (b) meetings it had with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regarding the land and buildings transaction tax prior to deciding not to choose HMRC for its collection.

Answer · John Swinney: Prior to reaching a decision about the collection of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, Scottish Government officials sought and received from HMRC information about the likely costs of collection of a tax “like for like” with Stamp Duty Land Tax. Offici…

6 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many personal insolvencies there were in the first quarter of 2012 and how this compares with the previous (a) quarter and (b) year.

Answer · John Swinney: The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes the official personal insolvency statistics for Scotland on a quarterly basis on its website (see www.aib.gov.uk). Personal insolvency statistics consist of both bankruptcy and Protected Trust Deed figures. The most re…

6 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many companies went into liquidation in the first quarter of 2012 and how this compares with the previous (a) quarter and (b) year.

Answer · John Swinney: The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes the official corporate insolvency statistics for Scotland on a quarterly basis on its website (see www.aib.gov.uk). Liquidation may be voluntary, by resolution of the company’s members or creditors, or compulsory, by o…