The appointment has Cabinet Office and Treasury approval and will be advertised across the Civil Service shortly.

HMRC Chief Executive, Jon Thompson, said:

Over the course of the department’s history, there has always been a partnership at HMRC’s helm, with a specific focus on tax as well as on the organisation itself. I propose continuing this tradition with the appointment of a Second Permanent Secretary to lead our work on tax, fiscal events and to be the Tax Assurance Commissioner. They will also lead on Brexit, which will continue to grow in importance over the next few years.

Due to the level of tax policy expertise and knowledge of the UK tax system required, we will be limiting our search to existing civil servants only, and hope to announce the new appointment before the end of this year.