Jim Harra, HMRC’s tax
assurance commissioner and director general customer for strategy and
tax design, is to HMRC’s second permanent secretary.
He will take on the new role which was created in response to Edward Troup’s announcement in September that he would be retiring as chair of HMRC at the end of the year .
Harra’s appointment means that HMRC will continue to have a tax professional as one of its two permanent secretaries.
Frank Haskew, head of the ICAEW Tax Faculty, welcomed the appointment. As per
economia:
“But we certainly welcome
it: he knows his stuff and he is someone you can do business with.”
He added:
“He had a knack of telling you how
it is but it was also clear he cared about your concerns and how HMRC
could improve. That’s really important when you are dealing with
stakeholders whose members are at the sharp end when things go wrong.
HMRC has picked a good ambassador.”
Paul Aplin, ICAEW deputy president and tax
partner in A C Mole said:
“His experience within HMRC at board and
EXCOM level is unrivalled and he is experienced in both the media and
political spheres.”
Harra joined the
Inland Revenue as an inspector of taxes in 1984. In January 2009, he
was appointed director of corporation tax and VAT with responsibility
for optimising their design and delivery. In March 2011, he was promoted
to director of personal tax customer operations and seven months later
to director personal tax operations.
He became director general business tax in April 2012 and took up his current dual role in October 2016.
He said that he was looking forward to
his new appointment.
“The work we are doing in the department to create a
tax system that makes it easier for taxpayers to get things right, and
to prepare for the UK leaving the EU, is vitally important and touches
every life in the country.
I am proud to have been given the opportunity to help lead this important work.”
In his new role he will be working in
tandem with Jon Thompson, HMRC’s permanent secretary, who has been in
post since April 2016.
Thompson said
“There are some enormous and important
challenges ahead for HMRC: our transformation programme to make us a
world class, digital-first tax authority; our focus on supporting the
hones majority and clamping down on the dishonest minority; and our work
to rise to the challenges of exiting the EU – particularly customs and
the border.
Jim knows HMRC and its customers well and will bring his usual dedication, knowledge and professionalism to the role."
Oh, by the way, Harra doesn't believe that IR35 changes have caused contractors to
exit the public sector:
“This has not happened. HMRC has been monitoring this. Contractors
come and go, and the market is naturally fluid, but it would be wrong to
suggest that the public sector has significant recruitment gaps because
of this reform.”
Hmmm...
Tax does have to be taxing.
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