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The Tax Law Review Committee of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank has published a discussion paper to consider tax policy-making in the UK.
Since the 2004 O'Donnell reforms to the way government departments handle information, HM Treasury has been responsible for tax policy, while HMRC have overseen policy maintenance.
The new document believes this organisation of creating tax strategy has not worked as well as it should to produce clear and effective tax policies.
The IFS argues that if the new Government intends to simplify the UK tax system, it should also address the organisation and functioning of tax policy-making.
If an Office of Tax Simplification is to be set up, it may be appropriate to look at how it could contribute to policy making. For example, if the office were to have a role in dealing with problems in the current tax policy making process, it would need to be more than an advisory body.
Earlier this week, the Treasury launched a discussion document to propose improvements to the UK's tax policy-making process.
