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 Dyfed Alsop, Chief Executive | |
| Non-ministerial government department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 October 2017 |
| Jurisdiction | Wales |
| Employees | 80 (2022) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Non-ministerial government department executives |
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| Key document | |
| Website | gov |
The Welsh Revenue Authority (Welsh : Awdurdod Cyllid Cymru) is a non-ministerial department of the Welsh Government responsible for the administration and collection of devolved taxes in Wales.
The Welsh Revenue Authority is accountable to the Senedd.
For over 800 years most taxes in Wales had been collected by the UK government. [1] The Welsh Revenue Authority was formed in 2017 as the first non-ministerial government department of the Welsh Government, in anticipation of it becoming responsible for collecting taxes devolved to the Senedd under the terms of the Wales Act 2014 and 2017. [2] The 2017 Act also gave the Senedd powers to vary the basic rate of income tax by 10p, but this will be administered by HMRC. [3]
The Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016, which establishes the legal basis for the operation of the Welsh Revenue Authority, was passed by the Welsh Parliament in April 2016. [4]
The Welsh Revenue Authority was officially established to collect Wales' newly devolved taxes – the first Welsh-wide tax collection system for over 800 years. [5]
The Wales Act 2014 and Wales Act 2017 devolved the following taxes to the Welsh Parliament: [6]
The relevant legislation governing the Welsh Revenue Authority and Welsh taxes are:
As of 2023, they are also exploring the implementation of a Local Authority Opt-In Visitor Levy. [7]
The minister responsible for the Welsh Revenue Authority is the Minister for Finance, Rebecca Evans MS. Dyfed Alsop was appointed as CEO to lead the organisation [8]
The board of the Welsh Revenue Authority is composed of six members. Its main role is to develop and approve the Welsh Revenue Authority's overall strategy, approve final business plans and advise the chief executive on key appointments. It also performs an assurance role and advises on best practice.
Ruth Glazzard was appointed as chair. The board members currently are: [9]
There was a three phase process in the selection the head office of the authority. [10] Phase 1 and 2 drew up a short-list of viable locations from within the Welsh Government estate. [10] This considered six properties located in Sarn Mynach in Llandudno Junction, Rhodfa Padarn in Aberystwyth, Rhydycar Business Park in Merthyr Tydfil, the QED Centre in Treforest (near Pontypridd), Cathays Park in Cardiff and Picton Terrace in Carmarthen. [10]
Phase three of the process appraised the short-listed locations based on three agreed critical of the ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce, the proximity to stakeholders and the proximity to customers. [10] From this process three Welsh Government offices were available which could have potentially met the criteria, Cathays Park, Rhydycar Business Park and the QED Centre. [10] The Rhydycar Business Park site was assessed as being higher risk in its ability to attract key skills and being its location in relation to its customer base. [10] The QED Centre near Pontypridd was ultimately chosen as the site of the authority.
After a flood at the QED Centre in early 2020, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, they have moved to a 2 office model of working. With the offices being in Rhydycar Business Park (Merthyr Tyfdil) and Cathays Park 2 (Cardiff).
Local government in Wales is primarily undertaken by the twenty-two principal councils. The councils are unitary authorities, meaning they are responsible for providing local government services within their principal area, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highway maintenance. The principal areas are divided into communities, most of which have an elected community council. The services provided by community councils vary, but they will typically maintain public spaces and facilities. Local councils in Wales are elected; the most recent local elections in Wales took place in 2022, and the next are due to take place in 2027.
The administrative geography of the United Kingdom is complex, multi-layered and non-uniform. The United Kingdom, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe, consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For local government in the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have their own system of administrative and geographic demarcation. Consequently, there is "no common stratum of administrative unit encompassing the United Kingdom".
The Senedd, officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees to certain taxes, and scrutinises the Welsh Government. It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales and was often simply called the Welsh Assembly.
A legislative consent motion is a motion passed by either the Scottish Parliament, Senedd, or Northern Ireland Assembly, in which it consents that the Parliament of the United Kingdom may pass legislation on a devolved issue over which the devolved government has regular legislative authority.
The Welsh Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries and ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's private estate. The Crown Estate in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is managed by the Crown Estate Commissioners, which trades as The Crown Estate. In Scotland, the Crown Estate is managed by Crown Estate Scotland, since the Scottish estate was devolved in 2017.
The Barnett formula is a mechanism used by the Treasury in the United Kingdom to automatically adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to reflect changes in spending levels allocated to public services in England, Scotland and Wales, as appropriate. The formula applies to a large proportion, but not the whole, of the devolved governments' budgets − in 2013–14 it applied to about 85% of the Scottish Parliament's total budget.
Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).
Business rates in England, or non-domestic rates, are a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property. Rates are a property tax with ancient roots that was formerly used to fund local services that was formalised with the Vagabonds Act 1572 and superseded by the Poor Relief Act 1601. The Local Government Finance Act 1988 introduced business rates in England and Wales from 1990, repealing its immediate predecessor, the General Rate Act 1967. The act also introduced business rates in Scotland but as an amendment to the existing system, which had evolved separately to that in the rest of Great Britain. Since the establishment in 1997 of a Welsh Assembly able to pass legislation, the English and Welsh systems have been able to diverge. In 2015, business rates for Wales were devolved.
There are four types of elections in Wales: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved Senedd, local elections to community councils and the 22 principal areas, and the police and crime commissioner elections. In addition there are by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. Three of these four types of elections are held after fixed periods; the exception is UK general elections, the timing of which is at the discretion of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Senedd elections may be postponed to avoid elections to the UK parliament and Senedd coinciding with each other.
Welsh law is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd. Wales is part of the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales, one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. However, due to devolution, the law in Wales is increasingly distinct from the law in England, since the Senedd, the devolved parliament of Wales, can legislate on non-reserved matters.
Welsh independence is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Full fiscal autonomy (FFA) – also known as devolution max, devo-max, or fiscal federalism – is a particular form of far-reaching devolution proposed for Scotland and for Wales. The term has come to describe a constitutional arrangement in which instead of receiving a block grant from His Majesty's Treasury as at present, the Scottish Parliament or the Senedd would receive all taxation levied in Scotland or Wales; it would be responsible for most spending in Scotland or Wales but make payments to the UK government to cover Scotland or Wales's share of the cost of providing certain UK-wide services, largely defence and foreign relations. Scottish/Welsh fiscal autonomy – stopping short of full political independence – is usually promoted by advocates of a federal United Kingdom.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is a non-departmental public body funded by the UK Treasury that provides independent economic forecasts and independent analysis of the public finances.
The Wales Act 2014 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Revenue Scotland is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government responsible for the administration and collection of devolved taxes in Scotland. It is accountable to the Scottish Parliament.
The Wales Act 2017 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and devolves further powers to Wales. The legislation is based on the proposals of the St David's Day Command Paper.
Taxation in Wales typically comprises payments to one or more of the three different levels of government: the UK government, the Welsh Government, and local government.
The Landfill Disposals Tax (LDT) is part of the UK tax system and from 6 April 2019 is collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority and the money is used to support public services in Wales. The Landfill Disposals Tax replaced Landfill Tax in Wales from 1 April 2018. The Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017, which received Royal Assent on 7 September 2017, is a tax on the disposal of waste to landfill and is charged by weight. The Welsh Revenue Authority has collected and manages both the Land Transaction Tax and Landfill Disposals Tax in Wales since 2018.
Welsh devolution is the transfer of legislative powers for self-governance to Wales by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current system of devolution began following the enactment of the Government of Wales Act 1998, with the responsibility of various devolved powers granted to the Welsh Government rather than being the responsibility of the Government of the United Kingdom.
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