Document on the VAT assignment applied as part of the Smith Commission: FOI release

Information requested

Your website includes this document on the VAT assignment applied as part of the Smith Commission: https://www.gov.scot/policies/taxes/vat/ 

This page includes the following statement: 

"With VAT assignment a further 15% of Scotland's budget will be based on VAT revenues raised in Scotland – although the power to set VAT rates will remain reserved to the UK Government." 

Please could you confirm the numerator and denominator in the estimate of 15% presented here. Please could you also provide a basis for both of these

Response

Whilst the precise share that VAT Assignment will contribute to Scotland's budget will vary over time, the information you have asked for is set out in the documents published in December 2022 as part of the wider Scottish Government Budget process.

Forecasts of the revenue that will be assigned to the Scottish Government following the implementation of VAT Assignment are produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission as part of their Economic and Fiscal Forecasts. The latest forecasts are available at the link below, and show that Assigned VAT in 2022-23 would be worth £6.0 billion to the Scottish Government budget (see Supplementary Tax Table 4.28). 

Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts – December 2022 | Scottish Fiscal Commission 

As set out in the Scottish Government budget documents, the total Barnett funding from the UK Government in 2022-23 was £39.3 billion. 

Scottish Budget: 2023-24 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 

On the basis of these numbers, Assigned VAT as a share of the total Barnett funding from the UK Government would be around 15%.

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