Edward Troup is to step down from his role as HM Revenue and Customs’ first executive chair, where he has been responsible for the strategic, policy and reputational leadership of the tax authority since April 2016.
Troup, who is also the department’s first permanent secretary in a dual leadership structure that sees chief executive Jon Thompson responsible for operations, will retire on 31 December.
He said he had decided to retire “after nearly 40 years in the world of tax”, the last 13 working in HM Treasury and HMRC.
“We have just delivered our best-ever annual performance and I am immensely proud to end my professional career in tax in the department which is at the heart of the UK’s tax system,” Troup added.
“My colleagues across HMRC continue to deliver the vital work we do with huge talent and professionalism and the department is well on track to fulfil the vision of becoming a world class organisation.”
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Troup stepped up to the executive chair role from his position as tax assurance commissioner – a job created in 2012 in a bid to strengthen HMRC governance arrangements following public outcry over the department’s handling of large settlements.
After working on tax policy with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Troup first joined the Treasury in 1995 as a special advisor on tax to then-chancellor Ken Clarke.
Between 1997 and 2004 he worked for Simmons & Simmons – a law firm that controversially advised offshore companies named in the Panama Papers leak – and then re-joined the Treasury in 2004 as director of business and indirect tax, and then director-general of tax and welfare from 2010.
Commenting on the announcement, HMRC chief Thompson said: “Edward has given his all to this department during his time here, and as our most senior tax professional, we will miss greatly Edward’s expertise and leadership.
“HMRC is without a doubt a better organisation thanks to Edward’s contribution, and we will certainly build on his achievements here – I wish him all the best for whatever he does next.”
In a separate change to the top tier of management at HMRC, Jacky Wright, currently a corporate vice president at Microsoft, has been hired as the tax authority’s new chief digital and information officer.
She takes over from interim CDIO Mike Potter, who is taking on the role of director for future borders.