Scottish Rate of Income Tax not sufficiently publicised

19 October 2015

Throughout the month of September and into early October we ran a poll on the home page of our website asking:

“Do you think the introduction of the Scottish Rate of Income Tax has been sufficiently well publicised to employers and tax payers?” Yes or No?

We received a total of 237 responses of which only 23 (10%) people said Yes and an overwhelming 214 (90%) said No.

We know that HMRC will be writing to those individuals that, according to the information they currently hold, are or will be Scottish taxpayers come April 2016. And it is down to those in our types of industry to keep employers informed, however what about the many taxpayers that won’t hear about the Scottish Rate of Income Tax from HMRC or professional bodies? Certain media channels seem to be picking up on the changes, now that it is only 6 months away from implementation but there has been no mention of a wider publicity campaign, so be prepared to answer questions from employees on the subject of Scottish Income tax.

In our October 2015 edition of Professional in Payroll, Pensions & Reward we have an article on this very subject giving the latest details (pages 28-30). Our magazine is also available to view on the CIPP website under News/Publications.

The most recent Employer Bulletin from HMRC also includes an article and they have highlighted a Scottish Rate of Income Tax news page on GOV.UK that has been developed to provide updates and the latest information to employers on implementation.

Take a moment to have your say in our latest quick poll by visiting the CIPP’s home page (bottom right).