Introduction Background Note
8.The Scotland Act 2012 amended the Scotland Act 1998 to introduce the Scottish rate of income tax, which is expected to commence in April 2016.
9.The Scottish rate will be set each year by the Scottish Parliament and will be operated by HMRC as part of the UK income tax system; HMRC’s costs in implementing and administering the Scottish rate will be reimbursed by the Scottish Government.
10.The Command Paper, “Strengthening Scotland’s Future”, published alongside the Scotland Bill in November 2010 set out that the Comptroller and Auditor General would, as head of the National Audit Office (NAO), be invited to prepare a report to the Scottish Parliament on HMRC’s administration of the Scottish rate of income tax as part of the NAO’s annual report on HMRC’s overall performance.
11.This section clarifies the legal basis for this by requiring the C&AG) to prepare a report covering these matters and lay it before the Scottish Parliament on an annual basis.