The Scottish Government has published its Programme for Scotland 2018-19,  setting out its plans for Scotland in the next year, including the Bills that will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament.

The proposed Non-Domestic Rates Bill will deliver the ambition set out in the Barclay Review to enhance and reform the business rates system in Scotland to better support business growth and long-term investment and reflect changing marketplaces. The Bill will introduce measures aimed at improving the administration of the system including to reduce the number of appeals and improve the quality of information available to stakeholders. It will also deliver measures to increase fairness and ensure a level playing field by reforming a number of reliefs and tackling known avoidance measures. CTG members are reminded that the deadline for responses to the consultation on the implementation of the Barclay Review recommendations is 17 September 2018. Please either submit feedback via the comments box or by e-mail to info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.

The Scottish Government has continued to call on the UK Government to give the Scottish share of the Tampon Tax Fund to the Scottish Government to allow it to distribute those funds in line with Scottish priorities.

The Scottish Government has also confirmed that it will consult on updating legislation to promote transparency and accountability to ensure public confidence in charities and in the Scottish Charity Regulator is maintained.