Taking Stock: Doh! Homer announces exit after securing No 1 spot
The much-derided Homer - made a Dame in the New Year's Honours - spent more than four years in the role
IT HAD TO HAPPEN.
Just three working days after publishing the Accountancy Age 2016 Power List, the individual ranked number one, HMRC tax chief Lin Homer, has resigned.
The kiss of death was announced today that the former boss of the under-fire Border Agency will tootle off to pastures new in April.
The much-derided Homer – made a Dame in the New Year’s Honours – spent more than four years in the role and has racked up 36 years in the public sector.
Homer, 58, joined HMRC in January 2012 and led the organisation through a plethora of turbulent changes including the closure of 137 tax offices by 2027 as HMRC moves to a largely digital interface after a number of botched IT projects.
Given Homer’s ridiculously generous £2m civil service pension, it’s questionable whether she will take up another high-profile role or understandably sidle off to enjoy the increasingly seductive fruits of retirement.
Given the size of her pension pot, and the constant wave of negativity thrown her way by her numerous detractors, a more genteel life of afternoon TV and Werther’s Originals looks to be decidedly on the cards.