Vince Cable: I Would Work with Labour to Increase Tax on Wealthy

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable has admitted that he is of the 'centre left' as he appeared to welcome Labour overtures to work together on increasing taxes for the wealthy.

Sitting side by side with Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, on a television studio sofa, Mr Cable laughingly dismissed as "flattery" the Labourman's call for him to become leader of the Liberal Democrats.

He said that he would be happy to work with Mr Balls on issues such as raising taxes from the better off, including the imposition of a "mansion tax" on the most expensive properties.

But the Business Secretary, who is far more popular than Nick Clegg among grass roots Liberal Democrats, denied that he had ambitions to become leader. And he insisted that he was working well with Mr Clegg and his Conservative Coalition colleagues.

Asked about his idea for a mansion tax, which Labour now supports, he said: "I was delighted that Ed Balls has signed up. I have not been embarrassed to call myself a person of the centre left. » | Rosa Prince, Online Political Editor | Sunday, September 09, 2012

Wealthy Should Make 'a Greater Contribution' through Mansion Tax Says Nick Clegg
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg defends the idea of a mansion tax as a way for the wealthy to contribute more to the public finances.

Read the short article here | Sunday, January 22, 2012
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Vince Cable Calls for Mansion Tax in Next Budget
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable has called for an annual 1pc levy on homes worth over £2m and insists Conservative MPs are among the scheme's backers.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, is pushing for a mansion tax to be introduced on properties worth more than £2million in this year’s Budget.

While the policy is likely to be opposed by George Osborne, the Chancellor, Mr Cable said that he had spoken to Conservative MPs who backed the plan.

“A mansion tax is still very much on the agenda – it is a very good idea,” Mr Cable told The Sunday Telegraph.

“It is good for two reasons,’’ he said. ''It would constitute a tax on wealth rather than income, which we believe to be right, and also in economic terms it creates the right sort of incentives for the property market.”

Mr Cable added that it was “perverse” that rich “foreigners” could buy expensive properties in Britain and contribute just £1,000 a year in council tax towards the public finances.

The Business Secretary will on Tuesday unveil new measures to curb executive pay at Britain’s biggest public companies. He is expected to propose binding votes over future pay awards.

His insistence that a mansion tax was still on the cards will surprise many of his party’s MPs and supporters, who have grown pessimistic about it becoming government policy. The proposed levy would see home owners hit with an annual charge of 1 per cent of the property’s value above a £2 million threshold.

A homeowner with a property valued at £2.5 million would pay £5,000 a year, while one whose house was worth £5 million would pay £30,000 a year. This would be on top of council tax. » | Robert Watts, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, January 21, 2012