HMRC board welcomes two new non-executive directors 

Digital transformation expert Mike Bracken and tax specialist Bill Dodwell have joined the HMRC board as non-executive directors.They join the board as it looks to focus on three strategic priorities for HMRC:

• closing the tax gap
• improving customer service
• modernising and reforming HMRC

Bracken has led digital operations and transformations in large-scale public and private sector organisations in the UK and Europe. He was the founder and executive director of the UK Government Digital Service (GDS) and the UK’s first government chief data officer.

He has advised more than 30 governments and global financial institutions on digital transformation, from Australia to Argentina. In his new role, he will chair the board’s Modernisation and Reform Committee.

Meanwhile, Dodwell was tax director of the Office of Tax Simplification, having been head of tax policy at Deloitte. He has law degrees from King’s College London and Queens’ College Cambridge and is a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser.

Dodwell is a former president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and was a member of the General Anti-Abuse Rule Advisory Panel. He will now chair the board’s Closing the Tax Gap committee.

Both Bracken and Dodwell have been appointed board members by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs for a fixed term of one year.

The HMRC board, which is chaired by exchequer secretary to the Treasury, James Murray MP, provides scrutiny, challenge and advice to the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs on HMRC’s operational strategies, performance, capability and risks. It is not decision-making and does not advise on policy development or the affairs of individual taxpayers.

Jim Harra, HMRC first permanent secretary and CEO, said: “I’m delighted Mike and Bill are joining the board and adding their expert knowledge to the considerable expertise that already exists on the board.

“They will help HMRC to deliver on the minister’s priorities of closing the tax gap, improving customer service, and modernising and reforming HMRC.”