LAWR

LANDFILL he outcome of the 'no' vote in the recent Scottish Referendum should not be seen as an affirmation of the status quo. Through the Scotland Act 2012, Scotland has already received additional fiscal autonomy with the devolution of three taxes. These powers include the devolution of landfill tax with effect from 1 April 2015. Scottish landfill tax will then become the responsibility of Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the newly formed, Revenue Scotland. Whilst the devolution of landfill tax to Scotland is not part of the cross party pre-referendum proposal to devolve further tax powers to the Scottish Government, it is highly significant as it will form part of the first tranche of tax powers to be devolved since the UK was formed. Landfill tax rates In delivering the recent draft Budget to the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Finance Secretary, John Swinney, announced that, from 1 April 2015, dis- posals in Scotland of waste via landfill will be charged to at a standard rate of £82.60 per tonne, with a lower rate of £2.60 per tonne for specifically identi- fied qualifying materials. The Scottish system remains in line with the rest of the UK, in a move to combat potential 'waste tourism', through the exploita- tion of different rates north and south of the border. Previously, the Scottish Government clearly stated its intention that the new rates would be no lower than those under the current system and has remained true to its word. The Scottish landfill tax will, therefore, operate in a largely similar fashion to the current UK system. As such, a standard rate of tax will be applied per tonne of waste disposed by way of landfill, with the application of reduced rates of tax to the disposal of the same 'qualifying' materi- als, as under the current system. Additional powers However there are a number of proposed differences between the two regimes. First ly, the credit rate for the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund is to be set at a rate of 5.6% - some 10% higher than the equivalent UK rate. This is designed to further encourage landfill site operators to contribute to projects for environmental improvement. Secondly, the Scottish legislation will include the power to assess operators of illegal (unregistered) landfill sites. It is hoped that these additional powers will not only deter operators of illegal landfill but will lead to the recovery of underpaid Scottish landfill tax. Given that such sites sometimes operate in " The Scottish system remains in line with the rest of the UK, in a move to combat potential 'waste tourism' " 10 Local Authority Waste & Recycling December 2014 Devolution of landfill tax to Scotland Scotland is set to retain similar landfill tax rates to those set by Chancellor George Osborne when further powers are devolved to the Scottish Parliament in 2015. EY's (Ernst & Young) Paul O'Neill and Julian Bowden-Williams unpick this issue. T Scotland will implement a new landfill tax regime next year.

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