Efforts to appoint a new Director of the Revenue Service is continue – with the States hoping to announce an appointment later this year.
The search had started in January this year, after the States Treasurer carried out a review of the work being done by the most senior employee within the Revenue Service.
Bethan Haines said at the time that the review had convinced her that the role of Director of the Revenue Service had too many responsibilities and the operational and policy functions should be separated.
That led to a decision to split the role in two – with the Director of the Revenue Service focused on the delivery of the island’s revenue service alongside a Director of Tax Policy role focusing on domestic and international policy development.
The Director of Revenue Service role was advertised, with a salary of up to £147,000 in January with a closing date for applications of 14 February.
Ms Haines told Express that the Director of Revenue Service has not yet been appointed, but there should be news on that front within a few months.
“Recruitment is ongoing and we are hopeful of appointing a successful candidate in the next few months,” she said.
“This is a crucial role focused on leading on the operational delivery of the service, separating this from domestic and international tax policy work which is carried out by the Director of Tax Policy, as announced earlier this year.”
The Director of Tax Policy – focusing on domestic and international policy development – is Nicky Forshaw. She was the Director of Revenue Service prior to the review which led to the decision to split the role in two.
The Revenue Service itself has been under immense pressure in recent years with a backlog of personal and corporate tax returns needing to be assessed.
This week it was confirmed that 2020’s returns are now considered to be fully assessed, with fewer than 5% of all returns still being looked at for that year.
The latest statistics also show that 92% of personal and 90% of corporate returns for 2021 have been assessed meaning that year is close to being signed off too.
76% and 77% of personal and corporate returns for 2022 have been assessed.
2023’s returns – which had to be submitted by 31 January 2025 – are already being worked through too, with 59% of personal returns already being assessed. Just 9% of corporate tax returns for 2023 have been assessed so far.
Improving customer experiences and speeding up the assessment process is a government priority – as pledged by both the new Policy and Resources President, and the new head of the civil service.
Meanwhile, in her first speech to the States as P&R President, Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez said she’s confident that “tangible improvements” are already coming from the Revenue Service.
