[6] His father was the youngest British naval officer to command a submarine in World War II, aged 21 in June 1943, and he was later the last Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet.

[7] Troup was educated at Oundle School until 1972, and then studied mathematics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, graduating with a BA in 1976 and an MSc in 1977.

[13][14] Faith in a general anti-avoidance provision is based on a lack of understanding of the real nature of tax avoidance.

Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee on the subject of tax havens in 1999, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development began to take measures with regards to offshore companies,[4] Troup immediately had to declare an interest with regards to the Code of Conduct, saying: "In relation to the offshore jurisdictions, [I am involved with] assisting them [and] putting their representations to the OECD".

[19] In March 2016, Private Eye characterized Troup's time in the Treasury as including a series of relaxations to laws regarding multinational corporations and alleged tax havens.

[25] Troup was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for "public service to taxpayers and the tax system".

[26] In 2019, Troup spoke to the Resolution Foundation, where he said that baby boomers were an "under-taxed generation", and criticised free television licences for the over-75s in the UK.

[27] In April 2024, the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that Troup was part of her advisory team on tax avoidance.