In The Political History of the Devil Daniel Defoe coined the line that was later tidied up by Benjamin Franklin: “Things as certain as death and taxes can be more firmly believed”. Tax is as inevitable a presence as the shadow of death and both are hard to discuss. As the candidates to be prime minister indulge in an auction to make tax lower, there are signs that Labour thinking might be much more interesting.

A report on land, its use and its treatment as an asset, commissioned by the Labour Party and written by George Monbiot, was released this week and, where it was not ignored, was greeted as evidence of Labour’s desire to tax the nation until the pips squeak. In point of