Modernising Revenue Scotland's tax administration framework – communications from Revenue Scotland to taxpayers: Consultation

Scottish Government Impact Assessments

In accordance with legislative requirements, various Impact Assessments will be completed as part of consideration of potential legislative changes related to communication from Revenue Scotland to taxpayers.

Business and Regulation

In developing proposals for legislation, a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) analyses whether a policy is likely to increase or reduce the costs and burdens placed on businesses, the public sector, voluntary and community organisations.

Your comments will help inform the BRIA.

Questions

20. Do you have any information which could inform a draft BRIA relating to the proposals set out in this consultation?

In particular, please describe:

• any anticipated costs, burdens or administrative requirements;
• potential benefits or opportunities;
• impacts on competition, markets, supply chains, or innovation; and
• whether different types or sizes of organisations may be affected differently

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

The Articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the child wellbeing indicators under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 apply to all children and young people up to the age of 18, including non-citizen and undocumented children and young people.

Question

21. Are you aware of any examples of particular current or future impacts, positive or negative, on young people (children, pupils, and young adults up to the age of 26) of any aspect of the proposals in this consultation?

Environment

The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires those preparing public plans and programmes to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) if they are likely to result in significant environmental effects when implemented.

Question

22. Are you aware of any examples of potential impacts, either positive or negative, that you consider any of the proposals in this consultation may have on the environment?

Equality

In developing proposals for Revenue Scotland’s approach to taxpayer communications, the public sector equality duty requires the Scottish Government to pay due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, victimisation, harassment or other unlawful conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010;
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic.

These three requirements apply across the 'protected characteristics' of:

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;
• race;
• religion and belief;
• sex; and
• sexual orientation

Question

23. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation may impact, either positively or negatively, on these with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation)?

Fairer Scotland Duty

The Fairer Scotland Duty is set out in legislation in Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010 and came into force in Scotland from April 2018. It requires Scottish Ministers and named public bodies to actively consider what more can be done to reduce the 'inequalities of outcome' caused by 'socio-economic disadvantage' when making 'strategic decisions'.

Question

24. Are you aware of any examples of potential impacts, either positive or negative, that you consider any of the proposals in this consultation may have on groups or areas at socio-economic disadvantage (such as income, low wealth or area deprivation)?

Island Communities

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 provides for a duty on Scottish Ministers and other relevant public bodies that they must have regard to island communities in exercising their functions and in the development of legislation. Section 13 of the 2018 Act obliges the Scottish Ministers to prepare an Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) in relation to legislation which, in their opinion, is likely to influence an island community that is significantly different from its effect on other communities in Scotland.

Questions

25. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation might impact, positively or negatively, on island communities in a way that is different from the impact on mainland or other areas?

26. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation might impact, either positively or negatively, on rural communities on mainland Scotland?

Consumer Duty

The Consumer Duty is a statutory duty introduced by the Consumer Scotland Act 2020 that places a duty on relevant public authorities in Scotland. When they are making decisions of a strategic nature through the exercise of their functions, they must have regard to:

• the impact of those decisions on consumers in Scotland; and
• the desirability of reducing harm to consumers in Scotland.

Question

27. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals set out in this consultation may impact, positively or negatively, on consumers in Scotland?