Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rt. Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP and I have confirmed that HMRC, the Welsh Government and new Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) are ready to go live with the move to Welsh devolved taxes on 1 April.
From 1 April 2018, Wales will collect its first national taxes for almost 800 years as stamp duty land tax and landfill tax are devolved, to be replaced by land transaction tax and landfill disposals tax.
I have agreed with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that I am content for the UK Government to set in train the process for the disapplication of the UK taxes, to enable land transaction tax and landfill disposals tax to go live from 1 April 2018.
The Welsh Revenue Authority was established in October 2017 to collect and manage two devolved Welsh taxes following the introduction of the Tax and Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016.
Today’s meeting was also an opportunity to reflect on the good and constructive relationships that have developed between our governments over this period. I look forward to this continuing.
Tax devolution of these taxes represents a significant milestone for Wales, providing us with further tools to make a fairer Wales and grow the Welsh economy.
I’d like to thank members of the Finance Committee for the scrutiny and assurance they have provided to date as we reach this significant point in the Welsh tax devolution process.