Show Notes
Wealth taxes are all the rage as we approach an Autumn budget where money affi make for the Treasury.
75% of the British public want a wealth tax (2% tax on assets over £10 million) according to YouGov polling. Gary Stevenson, Dale Vince and the Patriotic Millionaires crew say it will raise £24 billion - so why doesn't the government just do it...
Dan Neidle is the UK's foremost tax expert - head of the Tax Policy Associates and formerly Clifford Chance's Head of Tax for 20 years. His tax vigilanteism led to the sacking of senior Tory minister Nadhim Zahawi. His organisation 'Tax Policy Associates' continues to go after dodgy tax schemes, creating more scuffles with some of the most rich and powerful in the UK.
We call him Professor (ta)X, some call him tax Batman.
In this episode we discuss a wide range of ideas - not just wealth taxes - but wealth inequality, populist comms and radical pro-growth reform of the UK's antiquated tax system.
P.S. for our leftist audience, we're not giving up on an internationally co-ordinated wealth tax.
We also hone in on a land value tax, supported by every tax policy wonk across the political spectrum but a big fat 0 politicians. Maybe the govt's mission really should be a housing-theory-of-quite-a-lot, moving with far more urgency and doing whatever necessary to upend the UK's supply problem.
But of course, the cost of that is votes - votes that virtually every party has deemed necessary not to challenge, leaving us with council tax home valuations from the 90s... It really is such a mess.
Enough of the doomerism. Hopefully this episode will leave you, like us, feeling a bit more informed about the shape of British tax policy and how we should be influencing the national conversation.
------
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:23 Will a Wealth Tax Work? 08:02 Are Millionaires Leaving the UK? 14:00 Wealth Tax vs. Economic Growth 21:12 International Wealth Taxes 26:53 Fixing the UK’s Boomer Tax Problem 31:58 Land Value Tax = A Real ‘Wealth Tax’ 38:00 Farmer’s Inheritance Tax Solution 41:06 Why Politicians are Failing on Tax 52:55 Eradicating Tax Havens 59:00 Fighting Fraud and Tax Avoidance 1:04:51 Private Sector vs. Public Sector
------
Watch on YouTube: Youtube.com/@wtfisleft Follow Dan on X: @DanNeidle Follow us on IG + TikTok: @wtf_is.left Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/vmF3SjKu
More from What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie
In our latest escapade to widen discourse on the Left, we sat down with Owen Jones to discuss his latest book, 'The Fall of The West'.
JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft ****
We're delighted to be joined by the Rt Hon Kanishka Narayan MP. In our first episode from Labour Conference 2026, we discuss the backlash to AI doomsday warnings, the fragility of the AI economy and how this tech will be used - to the benefit or detriment of workers. As listeners will know, we've approached AI with a healthy dose of scepticism. Technology is itself neutral but the politics emerges in its application. We have plenty examples in history of how industrial revolutions disempowered workers before inevitable backlash and revolution. Do we need to wait for things to get bad? Or does the UK have a serious plan for a future that harnesses the white heat of technology? We delve into all of this and more, asking how the UK is preparing for the moral mission of worker-centric AI.
JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content
JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft