This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7284895.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Lib Dems plan tax for super rich Cable rethink on high value homes
(about 8 hours later)
Lib Dem treasury spokesman Vince Cable says he wants to end the "ridiculous anomaly" which sees the owners of homes worth millions paying only council tax. Vince Cable has told BBC News he was forced to ditch plans for an annual tax on homes worth £1m or more over fears it would alienate middle class voters.
Mr Cable told BBC News he had scrapped plans for a levy on properties worth £1m - but he was still considering a tax on the homes of the "super rich". In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's John Pienaar, Mr Cable said he was persuaded to drop the policy last year by Lib Dem party colleagues.
He said he would be announcing detailed proposals later this year. But he said he was now devising a new policy to address the "problem of extreme wealth in property".
And in a speech to the party's spring conference, Mr Cable told wealthy non-domiciles to "pay up or pack up". Mr Cable earlier unveiled plans to tax the "super rich".
Labour and the Conservatives have both outlined plans for a levy on non-domiciled foreign nationals who pay no tax on their overseas earnings, but Mr Cable said they had not gone anywhere near far enough. He told the Lib Dems' spring conference in Liverpool he would "like to see a stronger commitment to cutting the taxes of low and middle income families."
I would like to see a much tougher approach to the windfalls on property and land values enjoyed by the super rich Vince Cable To pay for that, he added: "I would like to see a much tougher approach to the windfalls on property and land values enjoyed by the super rich."
We will be coming back with something that addresses fully the problem of extreme wealth in property which currently attracts no more than nominal council tax Vince Cable
Explaining the move in a BBC interview, he said he did not think it was right that the owners' homes worth as much as £18m in some parts of London just paid standard council tax.
But he said plans unveiled this time last year for an annual 1% levy on homes worth £1m or had been dropped after pressure from party colleagues.
Asked if that was because such a move could damage the party in the eyes of middle-class voters, Mr Cable said: "Certainly that objection was made.
"I have listened to the objections on that specific proposal and we have not pursued it".
He added: "We will be coming back with something that addresses fully the problem of extreme wealth in property which currently attracts no more than nominal council tax."
'Dithering' jibe
Earlier in a speech to the party's spring conference, Mr Cable told wealthy non-domiciles - who live in the UK but pay no tax on overseas earnings - to "pay up or pack up".
Labour and the Conservatives have both outlined plans for a levy on non-doms, but Mr Cable said they had not gone anywhere near far enough.
He said: "After 10 years of dithering Gordon Brown has decided to act.He said: "After 10 years of dithering Gordon Brown has decided to act.
As a veteran of the struggle against Mrs Thatcher's poll tax, he has decided - you've guessed already - to introduce a poll tax. "As a veteran of the struggle against Mrs Thatcher's poll tax, he has decided - you've guessed already - to introduce a poll tax.
"Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal is to pay the same tax as a non-dom shopkeeper."Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal is to pay the same tax as a non-dom shopkeeper.
'Almost hysterical'
"Not surprisingly, the Tories agree that this is fair, indeed, they claim to have thought of it first."Not surprisingly, the Tories agree that this is fair, indeed, they claim to have thought of it first.
"Yet there has been an almost hysterical reaction from the City. How dare British politicians query the tax privileges of the rich?"Yet there has been an almost hysterical reaction from the City. How dare British politicians query the tax privileges of the rich?
"If we are not careful, they say, Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs living in 80m houses will no longer feel welcome and go somewhere else. "If we are not careful, they say, Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs living in 80m houses will no longer feel welcome and go somewhere else. 'Pay up or pack up'
'Pay up or pack up'
"That's tough. Let them go. We say that foreign expatriates are welcome to live and work in Britain."That's tough. Let them go. We say that foreign expatriates are welcome to live and work in Britain.
"But when they have been here seven years, they pay British tax like the rest of us. Pay up or pack up.""But when they have been here seven years, they pay British tax like the rest of us. Pay up or pack up."
Mr Cable also said he wanted to be more "radical" in his approach to taxation.Mr Cable also said he wanted to be more "radical" in his approach to taxation.
"I would like to see a much tougher approach to the windfalls on property and land values enjoyed by the super rich," he told delegates."I would like to see a much tougher approach to the windfalls on property and land values enjoyed by the super rich," he told delegates.
At last year's Lib Dem spring conference Mr Cable floated the idea of an annual 1% levy on homes worth more than £1m.
'Anomaly'
He told BBC News he had dropped that idea as unworkable - but he still wanted to devise a way of extracting more tax revenue from the owners of very high value homes.
He said the fact that some houses in London were worth £80m or more but the owners only paid council tax on them was a "ridiculous anomaly that has to be addressed".
He said the cash generated should be used to cut tax on low- and middle- income families, with the aim of taking some of them out of the tax system altogether.
Mr Cable also used his conference speech to set out proposals for an increase in tax on "high alcohol" drinks to be offset by a cut in the VAT on fruit juices from 17.5% to 5%.Mr Cable also used his conference speech to set out proposals for an increase in tax on "high alcohol" drinks to be offset by a cut in the VAT on fruit juices from 17.5% to 5%.