Public appointment: members reappointed to Revenue Scotland

The Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth, Tom Arthur, today announced the reappointment of Jean Lindsay and Martin McEwen as members of Revenue Scotland’s Board.

Members

Jean Lindsay is a former Director at the Forestry Commission. She was formerly the Head of Profession for HR and is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). She has significant experience in Leadership, People Management, Public Sector Governance, Health and Safety and Change Management, including large scale organisational restructuring. She is a qualified Executive Coach and Myers-Briggs practitioner. She also sits on the Board of Crown Estate Scotland, including their Audit and Risk and Remuneration Committees. Jean is also a Non-Legal Member of the Employment Tribunal (Scotland).

Martin McEwen is the Head of Tax at SSE plc. He joined the company in 2008 after a number of years at PwC, initially to manage international matters for the group, before taking on responsibility for all taxes. He was instrumental in SSE plc becoming the first FTSE 100 company to obtain Fair Tax Mark accreditation, and is a regular speaker on tax transparency and responsible corporate tax behaviour. He is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor, and has been a member of the Scottish Taxes Committee and the Corporate Tax Committee at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland.

Reappointment

The reappointments will run for three years from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025.

The reappointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The reappointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £299.52 for a time commitment of up to three days per month.

Other ministerial appointments

Jean Lindsay is a Member of the Crown Estate Scotland for which she receives remuneration of £219.50 per day, for a time commitment of two days per month.

Martin McEwen does not hold any other public appointments.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.  

Jean Lindsay and Martin McEwen have had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

Revenue Scotland has responsibility for the collection and management of Scotland’s devolved taxes - Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT). These taxes came into effect on 1 April 2015, replacing their UK equivalents (Stamp Duty Land Tax and UK Landfill Tax respectively).

Revenue Scotland was established as a Non-Ministerial Office on 1 January 2015 through the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014 (RSTPA). Since then, revenue of almost £5 billion has been collected by Revenue Scotland.

Revenue Scotland is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament and operates independently of the Scottish Government.