Director of Tax

Responsibilities

The Director of Tax oversees the work of the Tax Directorate. 

The Tax Directorate leads on advising how best to grow and protect Scotland’s tax revenues with responsibility for the Scottish Government’s approach to managing the sustainability of the tax base and improving tax performance.  This includes the development and provision of policy advice and legislation on devolved tax powers, to ensure the successful implementation and operation of the tax powers set out in the Scotland Acts 2012 and 2016.

Tax is a major component of the powers, including Scottish Income Tax (yielding receipts of around £15 billion annually, collected by HMRC) and the fully devolved taxes (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax, together yielding around £850 million annually, collected by Revenue Scotland).

The director is also a member of the following groups:

• SG Scottish Exchequer Management & Assurance Boards
• Tax Policy Coordination Group
• Tax Partnership Advisory Board

Biography

Lucy joined Scottish Government in 2019 from her previous role as Chief Economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Prior to a 25-year career in the financial sector, Lucy was a senior economist at the Bank of England and lecturer in European and environmental economics at the University of Manchester.