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What is devolution?

Devolution is a means of granting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland certain powers over affairs that affect only those countries, while remaining part of the United Kingdom. The UK Parliament, through a number of Acts of Parliament, has conferred powers to make legislation in specified areas on the elected Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. For more detail on how devolution works, see Practice Note: An introduction to devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Devolution of tax matters

This subtopic introduces different aspects of devolution as they relate to tax matters, which would be useful for a tax lawyer to be familiar.

Tax legislation generally applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, unless specific exclusions are made. However, steps have been taken to devolve powers in relation to tax in all three countries, but to differing degrees and in respect of different taxes. For current details of devolved tax matters, see: Tax—devolution tracker.

Real estate taxes

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   Scotland: Land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT)—the basics—this Practice Note provides an overview of land and buildings