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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Cable rethink on high value homes | Cable rethink on high value homes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 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. | 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. |
| Treasury spokesman Mr Cable said he was persuaded to drop the policy last year by Lib Dem party colleagues. | Treasury spokesman Mr Cable said he was persuaded to drop the policy last year by Lib Dem party colleagues. |
| But he said he was now devising a new policy to address the "problem of extreme wealth in property". | But he said he was now devising a new policy to address the "problem of extreme wealth in property". |
| Mr Cable earlier unveiled plans to tax the "super rich", at the party's spring conference in Liverpool. | Mr Cable earlier unveiled plans to tax the "super rich", at the party's spring conference in Liverpool. |
| He told the conference he would "like to see a stronger commitment to cutting the taxes of low and middle income families." | He told the conference he would "like to see a stronger commitment to cutting the taxes of low and middle income families." |
| 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." | 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 | 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 an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's John Pienaar, 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. | Explaining the move in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's John Pienaar, 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 more 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. | 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". | "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." | 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 | '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". | 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. | 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' | '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. 'Pay up or pack up' | "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' |
| "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. |
| 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%. |