Who’s afraid of a wealth tax?

What do 58% of G20 millionaires, 75% of the UK public, Lord Neil Kinnock, Oxfam, Dale Vince, Gary Stevenson, Brian Eno, Unite the Union, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and practically every other major union, the Green party, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP, Alliance, a dozen Labour MPs, and at least seven Nobel-prize-winning economists, have in common?

They all support a wealth tax.

Given this overwhelming support, and the government’s manifesto promises to invest in public services whilst making “those with the broadest shoulders” carry the costs, it might be surprising to hear that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is resisting calls for a wealth tax.

Clearly the chancellor is listening to advice from somewhere else.

Who’s afraid of a wealth tax?

Perhaps she’s been listening to Edmund Shing, the chief investment officer at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, who called wealth taxes “a very dangerous road.”

Or maybe even Nigel Green, the CEO of deVere Group— who make their money helping wealthy expats move their money around the world to avoid taxes— who urged Reeves to stamp out any speculation as “even floating this idea is dangerous.”

Both of these men have made their money advising the rich on how to get richer, often by gaming the financial system, or moving wealth around the world to avoid taxes.

They live off of commissions from growing the obscene piles of hoarded wealth held by the super-rich— so it’s pretty obvious why they would “strongly oppose” a wealth tax.

But recent polling shows they represent a fringe position shared by just 6% of the UK public. A position we already know is receiving an outsized airing in newspapers and on television which are full of similar sentiments. But it seems they are also having an outsized impact on the Chancellor’s thinking.

Unfortunately political lobbying in the UK is particularly opaque. So it’s hard to say for sure how much money vested interests are spending trying to influence the government’s policies.

But for context in Europe, where lobbying registers are more transparent, we know BNP Paribas spent €1.5 million this year lobbying the EU parliament. That’s the sort of money we’re talking about.

So, it’s crucial we clear things up.

Here’s the 5 most common myths and misunderstandings these groups have been pushing about wealth taxes and why they’re wrong.