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German "Think Tank experts" push for wealth seizure to fund EMU bail-outs …Two top advisers to German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called for a tax on private wealth and property in eurozone debtor states to force the rich to fund rescue costs, marking a radical new departure for EMU crisis strategy.  Professors Lars Feld and Peter Bofinger said states in trouble must pay more for their own salvation, said arguing that there is enough wealth in homes and private assets across the Mediterranean to cover bail-out costs. “The rich must give up part of their wealth over the next ten years,” said Prof Bofinger.  The two economist are members of the Germany’s Council of Economic Experts or “Five Wise Men”, a body that advises the Chancellor on major issues. There is no formal plan to launch a wealth tax but the council is often used to fly kites for new policies.   Prof Bofinger told Spiegel Magazine that it was a mistake to target deposit holders in banks, the formula used in the EU-IMF Troika bail-out for Cyprus where those with savings above €100,000 at Laiki and Bank of Cyprus face huge losses. “The canny rich in southern Europe just shift their money to banks in Northern Europe to escape seizure,” he said.   Prof Feld said a new survey by the European Central Bank had revealed that people in the crisis countries are richer than the Germans themselves. “This shows that Germany has been right to take a tough line of euro rescue loans,” he said.  The ECB study found that the “median” wealth of is €267,000 in Cyprus, compared to just €51,000 in Germany where home ownership rate is just 44pc and large numbers of people have almost no assets.

A chapter of the IMF's latest financial stability report, released to coincide with the build-up to the meetings, warns that long periods with ultra-low interest rates and so-called "unconventional" monetary policy, such as quantitative easing, can spawn serious long-term problems, even if they succeed in boosting short-term growth.

At home, "zombie" firms and households that would have gone bust can be propped up by super-cheap borrowing – only to face an even greater risk of collapse when interest rates finally go up.

Meanwhile, some of the cheap money created in the US, Japan and the UK will leak overseas, as investors seek better returns elsewhere. Emerging economies in Asia and Latin America are increasingly concerned about speculative investment flows pumping up their currencies and inflating asset bubbles.

"Despite their positive short-term effects for banks, these central bank policies are associated with risks that are likely to increase the longer the policies are maintained," the IMF warned.

Depreciation is another welcome by-product of the hyperactive central banks' policies, and there will also be a debate in Washington about the risks of a beggar-my-neighbour battle to create the cheapest currency.

Even before Japan's dramatic expansion of its bond-buying programme, the sharp devaluation in the yen over the past six months had raised concerns in Europe that a strong euro will harm competitiveness.

Danny Gabay, of City consultancy Fathom, said an appreciating euro would drive Europe's economies deeper into recession and put the region's fragile banks at greater risk. "Do they think the banking system that is already under stress from high unemployment and non-performing loans can withstand a stronger euro too?"

Face-to-face talks, like those that take place at these IMF gatherings, can force policymakers to confront the consequences of their domestically motivated policies – but they are rarely persuaded to change their plans as a result. Sir Mervyn King, the outgoing Bank of England governor, is likely to repeat his frequently expressed fear that there remain deep, fundamental tensions in the world economy, between creditors and debtors, savers and spenders, which have never been tackled.