And incredibly, the public appears to be in favour. Three-quarters of Britons say they would back the new tax, which would raise billions to invest in public services.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure to consider this option from her own activists in her own party, including Labour backbenchers.

Yet others warn that introducing this levy would be an absolute disaster – and end up making all of us worse off.

A combination of Conservative Party misrule, Rachel Reeves’s economic incompetence, and US president Donald Trump’s trade war nonsense are plunging the UK economy into an ever deeper crisis.

With a new Budget looming in October, Reeves finds herself at a crossroads as she desperately tries to balance the books.

So does she raise taxes or cut spending in her Autumn Budget? Neither option is appealing.

As we saw with last month’s Spring Statement, the backlash against curbs to disability and sickness benefits was fierce, especially from Labour supporters.

They want her to hike taxes instead, especially on the rich. Pressure is growing to introduce a levy we have never seen before, a UK wealth tax.

Former City trader turned inequality campaigner Gary Stevenson is one of its most vocal supporters

In many respects, it sounds attractive. It would hit only a small number of people, perhaps 20,000 in the first year.

The vast majority of Britons wouldn’t pay a penny. Advocates claim a levy on UK assets above £10million could raise £24billion annually, to boost public services and help struggling households.

Polling also suggests public appetite for a wealth tax is strong.

More than three-quarters would rather see new taxes on the ultra-wealthy than face cuts to public spending, according to a YouGov survey for Oxfam.

They should be careful what they wish for.

There are strong arguments against a wealth tax. First, it would be a logistical nightmare. HMRC would have to assess the total wealth of tens of thousands of individuals every year to determine liability. That means valuing everything they own: property, investments, businesses, art, jewellery, even yachts and classic cars.

While campaigners claim only 20,000 would pay, tens of thousands more must be assessed to make sure they haven’t crossed that £10million threshold.

Since asset values fluctuate constantly, this would have to be done year after year. HMRC would be swamped.

Furthermore, the wealthiest already pay a large share of tax. Just 300,000 people contribute 30% of all income tax revenues, the highest in 20 years.

And let’s not forget the risk of “fiscal drag”. Once a tax like this is introduced, the threshold is unlikely to rise.

The £325,000 inheritance tax nil-rate band, for example, hasn’t increased since 2009 and remains frozen until at least 2030. A wealth tax would probably follow the same path, dragging more into its net over time.

Millionaires are already fleeing the UK as first the Tories and now Labour target wealthy foreign “non-doms”, and this would accelerate the exodus.

We asked three tax experts to say whether they would favour a wealth tax, and will publish their views over the next few days.

One warns that a wealth tax will backfire and “make everyone poorer” by driving wealth creators away.

Yet that’s what Britons want. Or say they do.