The next item is evidence on further fiscal devolution from Elspeth Orcharton from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Isobel d’Inverno from the Law Society of Scotland and Alexander Garden from the Chartered Institute of Taxation Scotland hub. Members have received papers from each of our witnesses, so we will go straight to questions. As always, I will begin, before opening it up for other colleagues round the table to ask questions.
I thank our contributors for their excellent and substantive submissions. There is plenty of meat in them for us to tear into, so to speak. Where shall we start? That is always the question. I may as well take the submissions in the order that they appear in our papers and start with the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
I am pleased that you numbered the paragraphs in your submission as members can see clearly what I am asking about. In paragraph 3.6, you state:
“we would not recommend assignment of revenues be considered until it is clear that it is possible to measure to an acceptable standard of accuracy the revenue attributable to Scotland. We do not believe it is currently possible to achieve this for VAT or corporation tax.”
You will know from the Smith commission that, although the devolution of corporation tax is not being recommended, assignment of VAT is. I have some concerns—I am sure that other members do, too—about your suggestion that it is not possible to measure those revenues
“to an acceptable standard of accuracy”.
What would that standard be and how could it be achieved?