I think the EU is definitely studying how the Dutch are reacting to this paper tax and will probably refine the approach in other countries. It's getting a fair amount of pushback, and that's good to see. A friend of mine built this site to make it easy for Dutch citizens to write to their elected representatives about "Box 3 Act": https://vermogensval.nl
I haven't heard of Whitney Webb! It sounds like her books would be right up my alley though. Thanks for the recommendation.
I've looked it up and you're right! Modern capitalism did begin in Italian city-states and then shifted to the Netherlands shortly after. I'm sure it was refined as it spread throughout Europe down through the centuries. England was way ahead of the curve as a nation. It's interesting to read about how advanced they were, so early on.