[V]ermont’s tax commissioner, Kaj Samsom, will be stepping down in the coming weeks to take a position at the National Life Insurance Company.
He informed tax department employees on Monday he will be resigning later this month, and in a letter to Gov. Phil Scott last week wrote that his last day will be May 25.
Craig Bolio, the deputy commissioner of taxes, will serve as interim commissioner until the governor makes a decision on who will head the department moving forward.
Samsom said in an interview Tuesday that he accepted a job as National Life’s deputy chief auditor.
“One way or another I knew I’d end up back in insurance and to have an opportunity at a local, well-respected major insurance company,” Samsom said, “those type of opportunities don’t come up very often.”
Samsom worked at the Department of Financial Regulation for 11 years before Scott appointed him as tax commissioner in 2017.
While leading the tax department, Samsom pushed for reforms to Vermont’s tax code including an overhaul of the state’s income tax system, and cuts to state taxes on social security benefits.
“It’s definitely a loss for us, but really it’s a good opportunity and he’ll be missed,” Rebecca Kelley, the governor’s spokesperson, said Tuesday.
In his resignation letter, Samsom said he will be working at the tax department until the “projected end of the current legislative session,” May 25.
Since the governor took office in 2017, the Scott administration has seen little shakeup in cabinet leadership.
Only a handful of the governor’s appointees have left, including Lisa Menard, the former corrections commissioner, and Rebecca Holcombe, the former education secretary. Scott did not make any changes after being elected to his second term.
Samsom said his reasons for moving on were solely related the job opportunity. He will begin work at National Life on June 3.
Lola Duffort contributed reporting.
