British Chancellor George Osborne has appointed a new board of tax experts who will work towards simplifying the country's complicated tax system.

The Office for Tax Simplification will work towards making the 11,000-page tax code more streamlined to make it simpler for individuals and businesses to understand and publish the findings for the chancellor to consider ahead of his Budget.

Osborne said the body was being established to attract foreign investors to the country. "The previous government took a complex tax system and made it even worse. A decade of meddling and intervening has made the tax affairs of millions of families and businesses across the U.K. extremely complicated," he said. "Simpler, more competitive taxes will help us show the world that Britain is open for business."

The OTS will undertake two initial reviews over the coming year, namely tax reliefs and small business tax simplification. The body is expected to publish its initial findings in time for the 2011 Budget.

Leading business think tank the Institute of Directors said the OTS "will only succeed if it has teeth." The IoD said the office must have complete independence and that its recommendations must be acted upon.

"The important thing now is to make sure that the office achieves some early successes, and that it goes on achieving," said Richard Baron, head of taxation at IoD. "Its recommendations must not end up stamped 'too difficult' or 'maybe in the longer term.'"