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Global Tax 50 2014: Alex Salmond

Former first minister of Scotland

Alex Salmond

Alex Salmond is a new entry this year

Alex Salmond, former Scottish first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), may have lost the referendum on independence for Scotland in September, but the campaign for self-government, which he led, has had a profound impact on the tax systemthere. Even before the vote on September 18, plans were already in place to give Scotland power to raise some tax revenue and administer the system. The Scotland Act, passed by the UK Parliament in 2012, allowed the government in Edinburgh to set what is described as the Scottish rate of income taxand raise two new taxes – Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax – from April 2015. A new agency – Revenue Scotland – will administer the two new charges.

But more momentous changes are in the offing now. The day after the vote, David Cameron, the UK prime ministerand a member of the Global Tax 50 in 2013, set up a cross-party group to agree on what new powers Scotland should get over all areas of government, not just tax. Though it did not go as far as the SNP wanted, such as giving the Scottish Government control over corporation tax, the Smith Commission proposed that, as well as the two new taxes, Scotland should get the revenue from the first 10 percentage points of the standard rate of VAT, receive all the tax revenue from the employment income of Scottish individual taxpayers and control Air Passenger Duty and the Aggregates Levy.

The Smith Commission was a reaction to the fear among the supporters of the union between Scotland and the rest of the UK that after September 19 they could end up dealing with another country. It was the zeal and prowess Alex Salmond, who stepped down as first minister and SNP leader shortly after the vote, brought to the campaign which changed the Scottish tax system forever.

The Global Tax 50 2014

View the full list and introduction

Gold tier (ranked in order of influence)

1. Jean-Claude Juncker  2. Pascal Saint-Amans  3. Donato Raponi  4. ICIJ  5. Jacob Lew  6. George Osborne  7. Jun Wang  8. Inverting pharmaceuticals  9. Rished Bade  10. Will Morris


Silver tier (in alphabetic order)

Joaquín AlmuniaAppleJustice Patrick BoyleCTPAJoe HockeyIMFArun JaitleyMarius KohlTizhong LiaoKosie LouwPierre MoscoviciMichael NoonanWolfgang SchäubleAlgirdas ŠemetaRobert Stack


Bronze tier (in alphabetic order)

Shinzo AbeAlberto ArenasPiet BattiauMonica BhatiaBitcoinBonoWarren BuffettECJ TranslatorsEurodadHungarian protestorsIndian Special Investigation Team (SIT)Chris JordanArmando Lara YaffarMcKessonPatrick OdierOECD printing facilitiesPier Carlo PadoanMariano RajoyNajib RazakAlex SalmondSkandiaTax Justice NetworkEdward TroupMargrethe VestagerHeinz Zourek

more across site & bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The European Commission wanted to make an example of US companies like Apple, but its crusade against ‘sweetheart’ tax rulings may be derailed at the CJEU.
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Richard Murphy and Andrew Baker make the case for tax transparency as a public good and how key principles should lead to a better tax system.
‘Go on leave, effective immediately’, PwC has told nine partners in the latest development in the firm’s ongoing tax scandal.
The forum heard that VAT professionals are struggling under new pressures to validate transactions and catch fraud, responsibilities that they say should lie with governments.
The working paper suggested a new framework for boosting effective carbon rates and reducing the inconsistency of climate policy.
UAE firm Virtuzone launches ‘TaxGPT’, claiming it is the first AI-powered tax tool, while the Australian police faces claims of a conflict of interest over its PwC audit contract.
The US technology company is defending its past Irish tax arrangements at the CJEU in a final showdown that could have major political repercussions.
ITR’s Indirect Tax Forum heard that Italy’s VAT investigation into Meta has the potential to set new and expensive tax principles that would likely be adopted around the world
Police are now investigating the leak of confidential tax information by a former PwC partner at the request of the Australian government.