The professional classes - lawyers, doctors, architects, and various other 'chartered this and thats' - are acting as a Praetorian Guard for the super-rich, according to a new analysis. Having acquired some of the trappings of wealth, they now defend the privileges of land, property, and pensions as if they were the main beneficiaries. Tax, it turns out, is a hill many upper middle-income Gen Xers and baby boomers are prepared to die on, clutching their riches to the grave rather than letting democratically elected bodies have a penny.

It's true they pay a higher proportion of government tax receipts than 15 years ago, so their reluctance is understandable. But the tax system they defend is so complex and riddled with distorting incentives that it's slowly destroying the economy, allowing the super-rich to escape almost all obligations to the society that made them wealthy. The professional classes seem unbothered that their stance undermines work incentives and deters business investment.

The article, written by Phillip Inman for The Guardian, notes that wealthy Gen Xers (born 1965 - 1980, now 46 - 61) and baby boomers are in charge of pretty much everything and form a powerful lobby against tax changes. Enter Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whose ability to borrow is limited, leaving him little option but to raise taxes. Taxing the rich fits his pledge to make the government 'more Labour.'

A proposed solution is a land value tax (LVT), replacing council tax (£45.2bn) and stamp duty (£11.5bn) with a flat 1.28% rate, raising £56.7bn. Under Dan Neidle's Tax Policy Associates plan, about 70% of homes - mostly outside London and the south-east - would pay less than their current council tax. The super-rich can't dodge LVT because they can't move land overseas. Economists are almost uniformly in favour, though the professional classes defeated similar proposals in the 19th century.

Burnham could also raise capital gains tax (CGT) to match income tax thresholds, discouraging wealth accumulation over income - a 40-year trend. Another idea targets families with over £100m in assets, who can pay as little as zero tax and average half the rate of the bottom 80% of households. These could raise £10bn-plus each. A tax commission six years ago recommended a one-off wealth tax raising over £300bn.

Tackling the issue won't be for the faint-hearted. As long as the professional classes defend their 40 years of pension and property accumulation at the expense of economic growth, Burnham's resolve will be tested.