Cable accentuates the coalition’s differences, but not without risk

Vulture

The reason why the Liberal democrats in general and Cable in particular are not taken seriously is there for all to see in Cable's ridiculous hat.

He looks like Guy Fawkes' granddad.

Lotus_51

Sounds like a good plan to me. Tories get the credit for dropping the 50% tax rate and the LibDems get the blame for the Mansion Tax and lose votes in leafy Twickenham at the next GE.

Publius

"Credibility, especially on economic matters, remains the Lib Dems’ most potent long-term weapon."

Weapon? Do you mean handicap?

Frank Sutton

Bet that hat looked good in the mirror, eh Vince!

startledcod

Vince Cable and Clueless will need to explain why my octogenarian parents, on a modest, fixed income should be required to pay a mansion tax when the value of their house has soared inexorably as a result of uncontrolled inflation, that doesn't make them wealthy.

Vince, as Ronald Reagan pointed out the problem is not that we aren't taxed enough it is that the Government spends too much.

normanc

Why would the removal of a tax after 2015 require the Lib Dems approval?

Surely whoever wins could just hold an emergency budget after the election and remove it (or keep it)?

Or is this just some more pathetic political 'in-fighting' (do people still fall for this?) between the 'good' and 'nasty' halves of the coalition to shore each other up with their base?

Salopian

Vulture's right - there's something of the Guy Fawkes about him and it ain't just the hat.

But there's an interesting subtext - Cable's talking about a quid pro quo in 2015 (when the 50p tax is due to go). Now that's around the time of the next Election - so here's a question

Is our hat - challenged friend already looking at Coalition II ? But it's likely that our chum Cleggers will have gone to Europe (if it's still there) by then. So who will lead the rump of the LibDems into that Coalition - surely not Cable.

It's all very silly season really ( but fun for all that)

JohnPage

Credibility, especially on economic matters, remains the Lib Dems’ most potent long-term weapon.

Eh? Some commentators claim the 50% rate doesn't raise any extra revenue at all. You disagree?

There are also at least two political angles. First, the LibDems concede the abolition of 50% is inevitable but still want something in exchange. How does that work? Why not just abolish it?

The mansion tax has the shortcomings of council tax, in that it badly hurts the asset rich, income poor, e.g. pensioners. So it critically depends at what level it would cut in. It also penalises the South East yet further.

Apart from that I think the post has bottomed it.

oldtimer

Mr Cable likes to talk about voodoo economics. This seems to be his favourite example. When he floated the idea a couple or so years ago he proposed that the mansion tax threshold be set at £1 million. This idea lasted for about ten minutes until Nick Clegg realised that he would be caught out by this very same tax as his mansion was valued at c£1.5 million. After a quick policy rethink the threshold was raised to £2 million and harmony was restored in LibDem ranks. Such is the quality of thinking behind LibDem tax proposals - rather like Danny Alexander`s wheeze in the last budget to raise an already high tax on oil and gas production. After Centrica declined to recommission gas production facilities shut down for maintenance and protests from other producers, the extra tax has quietly been removed.

These are yet more examples of the fact that we have chumps in charge of our economic affairs.

James Sproule

Is the purpose of “Mansion” tax to hit those in large homes, or highly priced ones?

If the purpose of such a tax is to have those in “mansions” pay more, surely a window tax would be more appropriate? It might have the disadvantage of hitting more people outside the south east, but it would undoubtedly be “fairer”, if politically less populist.

If this tax is all about the value of a home, Vince Cable and his friends need to explain why should people in the south east be at a geographic disadvantage? The rich already pay higher rates of income tax, and now seemingly the LD’s would like to subject them to a wealth tax as well.

Tellingly, no one seems to be advocating this tax as a revenues raising measure…

Baron

one day, we cannot be that far away from it, even the water dripping Tories are going to regret boarding the same boat with the confused party, as if the pain from the cuts, the green taxes and stuff weren’t enough, the cable tosser brings up the idea of the mansion tax, electorally a dead cert suicide.

having seen virtually all asset classes except for the useless gold what’s still bubbling drop, the brick and mortar abodes are even today the only chunk of tangible capital most people (70%?) have to ensure a civil end to their lives, unless they opt for the ‘one size fits all purgatories’.

who would have thought the once natural party to rule this land of mildly conservative burghers will sink that low.

Baron

startledcod, sir, you get it in one, the words “the problem is not that we aren't taxed enough, it is that the Government spends too much “ should be displayed in each and every office occupied by those who feed on the taxpayers’ money.

your mentioning the great man has reminded Baron of another saying of his: “We (the Americans) are a nation that has a government, not the other way round”. The guy’s lucky not to see both the Republic, and the land that once was the cradle of democracy to turn it around in a generation or two.

General Zod

Why does the abolition of a tax that costs rather than raises money require it to be replaced by another tax?

The usual lack of logic from the senile fool.

Axstane

All lefties see more taxes as the answer to a problem.

There are more than enough taxes. The government must concentrate on how the money is spent.

Fish

startledcod, sir, you get it in one, the words “the problem is not that we aren't taxed enough, it is that the Government spends too much “ should be displayed in each and every office occupied by those who feed on the taxpayers’ money.

Quite right. But in an attempt to make even the most modest savings (or in truth incerease spending less quickly) the Governement has run into a juggernaut of hysteria and activism from the left, left wing media, (self)interest groups and of cause our friends at the BBC who never talk about savings - just cuts, cuts and more cuts, and here in the Midlands they have accompanied their cuts features with graphics of dripping axes. Oh for some balance.

TrevorsDen

if a mansion tax were levied accoring to the size of a house and based on its value then it would affect owners of large houses all over the country in proportion to their value.

The problems of a mansion tax still remain and one wonders what the failings are in council tax that require it.

Since the 50p rate will not be collecting much if any revenue then abolishing it will not require much of a compensation.
An oligarch tax might be a better bet.

Tulkinghorn

Time for Vince to go?

whatawaste

A week ago the Treasury Select Committee slammed HMRC for poor performance and service delivery. Amongst many issues there is low morale, very weak management and during Brown's reign of terror too many key posts were axed (the merger between Revenue and Customs + Excise did not help either). Yet (I know the overworked darlings are on holiday) not one comment from the Coalition on how they are going to turn things around.

If the HMRC is so dysfunctional it is difficult to see how any deficit reduction can take place let alone start making inroads on public debt. This is another problem with soundbite and "sofa style" politicians in that they are very reluctant to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Of course it is far easier to waffle about mansion taxes etc.

potager

Definitely time for Vince to go and take his stupid hat with him.His pronouncements are invariably ill-thought out and usually aimed at stirring up trouble for his coalition partners.His much- vaunted expertise in economic affairs has melted like snow in Spring.His reputation as a politician was self-destructed by his over-weening arrogance and vanity.Retirement beckons,but we can only hope he doesn't keep popping on the BBC to be solicited for his half-baked opinion on anything.

lescam

Any mansion tax should not be based on a house's value, as those in the southeast would suffer disproportionately to those in the north. The tax should be based only on a property's size, which means basing it on the square footage or some other size measure.

I am not biased on this point, as I live in the north and my medium size house is worth around £400K, but in London would be valued at triple that. I don't agree with the idea of a mansion tax at all, but at least base it on size which applies equally, no matter where one lives.

A pensioner

I bought my house for a very modest sum. Through no fault of my own, successive governments have encouraged a housing bubble which has inflated its value out of all proportion. Given current inflation trends this will only be exacerbated. Thus, as a pensioner I am pretty much guaranteed to be caught out by this idiotic "mansion tax" even though my house is far from being a "mansion" under any normal definition. Why should I be forced to sell my home because governments can't control (or in some cases positively encouraged) inflation? A pity my pension didn't rise by the same percentage as the value of my house.

Woody

I doubt anyone had heard of Cable until his 'Mr Bean' joke. What a pity he was made a minister - his massive ego is just too big for government. I'd love the PM to bring him down to size.

Dimoto

Vince will be long gone by 2015.

You have to hand it to the old boy, a career spent entirely in well-earned obscurity, topped off by a final few years of glory.

No achievements of course, but easily the most media friendly, attention seeker in the coalition.

Right On

Well thanks for that Vince. The Conservatives need to find a way to raise the threshold and eliminate the ludicrous 50p rate and they need to do it before the next election.

So far Cameron has been powerless in reducing the state, and looks likely to achieve as much in reducing the tax burden. If that doesn't change then I can only presume he'll be running for re-election on the "I'm not Ed Miliband ticket".

disenfranchised

blimey, poor old sod must be feeling the cold.....

Baron

vulture, truth be told, Baron likes the hat, it's immeasurably better than the head it covers, not to mention the stuff that resides in the head.

Andrew

David Blackburn describes Cable's mansion tax as "coarse and crude." I am inclined to agree but a land value tax would have many desirable consequences, not least of which is that it is not a taxation on jobs and wealth creation. As Rees-Mogg has said many times, the country cannot get rich by buying and selling houses to each other. Although a land value tax is gaining significant ground amongst economists, no politician from the main parties will talk about it. Clearly it is politically difficult for the Conservatives, for it would hit their wealthy landowner supporters. Labour does not mention it, no doubt because they are frightened of being called fiscally irresponisble - but they have already achieved that accolade and need to start again. There are interesting parallels with Hong Kong and Singapore, both of which have land value taxation, designed to try and prevent property bubbles. It is a subject that we should all take much more seriously if we are to generate growth to employ us all.

2trueblue

Why not increase the stamp duty levels for houses over £1m? Easier and more logical, it could increase as the price goes up. Brown did it and stopped at £500k. It would not be unresonable to