Meanwhile, with many selling their equities as fast they can, the London stock market will perform dismally, making it even harder than it already is for companies to raise capital.
Perhaps worst of all, it will deter the foreign investment Britain desperately needs if it is to have any hope of boosting growth. After all, why pay 40pc or more on capital gains in the UK when France only levies 19pc on properties not classed as a main home. Belgium levies capital gains at 16.5pc, and Switzerland levies nothing at all on private financial returns.
Add it all up, and one point is surely clear. We will get little, if any, of the gain from the tax raid, because people are sensitive to these changes. But we will get all of the pain. In reality, it has already flopped — and will just worsen the fiscal crunch the country faces.