32 working papers · 9 research domains · Pre-peer review · DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21964119
New to the WDT? Start with the plain-English introduction — the mechanism, the loopholes it closes, and who benefits. This page is the research directory: what each paper asks, where to start, and what the project does not yet know.
Where to start
The argument has a logical spine. These five papers establish it in order. Reading them gives a complete picture of mechanism, foundations, valuation, governance, and fiscal viability — everything else builds on or extends this core.
- (WP) — mechanism design, principal objections, implementation pathway
- (MF) — why the delta base, and the cooperative architecture
- (VAL) — how the four valuation routes work and why valuation accuracy is not required
- (GOV) — how the SWF is governed and protected from capture
- (RATES) — what the WDT raises and under what assumptions
If you have 1–2 hours, read these five in order. Everything else is extension, detail, or robustness.
Why each domain exists
The paper domains follow from the proposition. Each is necessary, not optional.
| WDT taxes annual changes in net wealth |
the change must be measurable |
Valuation |
| It taxes gains and refunds losses |
the refund must be funded |
Revenue |
| Capital accumulates in a public fund |
someone must govern it |
Governance |
| People respond behaviourally |
responses must be understood and designed around |
Behavioural |
| This is to become law |
a credible transition path must exist |
Implementation |
The papers
Foundation
| What is the WDT and how does it work? |
(WP) |
| Why is this morally justified? |
(MF) |
Literature
| What has been tried before and where did it fall short? |
(LR.A) |
| What intellectual tradition does the WDT belong to? |
(LR.B) |
| What is the UK legal and fiscal context? |
(JUR) |
Valuation
| How do you measure wealth that does not trade? |
(VAL) |
| What is the mathematics of the valuation mechanism? |
(VAL.A) |
| How does the mechanism work in practice? |
(VAL.B) |
Corporate
| How does the WDT handle wealth held through companies? |
(CORP) |
| What are the detailed corporate mechanics? |
(CORP.A) |
Governance
| Who controls the system and how is capture prevented? |
(GOV) |
| What are the detailed governance rules? |
(GOV.A) |
| How does day-to-day operation work? |
(GOV.B) |
Revenue
| What would the WDT actually raise, and at what rates? |
(RATES) |
| What is the full mathematical revenue model? |
(RATES.A) |
| How sensitive are revenues to parameter changes? |
(SWEEPS) |
| What are the detailed sweep results? |
(SWEEPS.A) |
| How does the WDT compare against other tax systems on welfare grounds? |
(WFR) |
| What are the detailed welfare findings? |
(WFR.A) |
Welfare and Distribution
| What does a mature WDT deliver to the working majority? |
(LDW) |
| What are the environmental and macroeconomic transmission channels? |
(ENV) |
Behaviour
| How would taxpayers respond, and does the system still work? |
(BEHAV) |
| What are the detailed behavioural findings? |
(BEHAV.A) |
| What would falsify the WDT’s central claims? |
(FAL) |
| What falls inside and outside the WDT’s scope? |
(SCOPE) |
Implementation
| How does a taxpayer exit their WDT position? |
(CLOSE) |
| How would the WDT be introduced in practice? |
(PHASE1) |
| What implementation questions remain open? |
(ADD) |
Political and Strategic
| How does the WDT survive politically? |
(POL) |
| What happens if one country adopts first? |
(FM) |
| Can the WDT be adopted partially or incrementally? |
(MOD) |
| How does the WDT change institutional incentives globally? |
(INST) |
What the project does not yet know
Every open question across all papers is collected and maintained in two places: the Project Map, which carries the full register with status and assignment, and (SCOPE), which distinguishes questions outside the project’s scope from those inside it but unresolved.
The open questions are stated because intellectual honesty requires it — not despite it. A proposal that cannot name what would change its conclusions is not a serious proposal.
Reading guide by interest
32 working papers in active development as of mid-2026. Pre-peer review. Open questions are stated explicitly throughout.