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Topics: Vince Cable| Tax| HMRC
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has been embarrassed after being fined £500 by HM Revenue and Customs for failing to pay VAT on his extra-curricular earnings.
The Liberal Democrat cabinet minister, who has been outspoken in the past about "ugly" tax avoidance, failed to register his earnings from media work, according to the Times.
His unpaid VAT, it was claimed last night in the Sun newspaper, could have been as much as £25,000.
A spokesperson for the minister said Cable's tax affairs were "above board" adding that HMRC had "let him off 50 per cent of the usual penalty".
His earnings from media work, including television appearances and newspaper columns, and from after-dinner speaking arrangements, soared in the two years before the Liberal Democrats entered a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010.
Cable was hailed as the sage of the credit crunch and became a popular figure through a combination of dry wit and economic nous. He appeared on Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas special last year but donated his fee to charity.
Before and after being appointed Business Secretary, Cable railed against tax avoidance saying in one 2009 speech that systematic tax avoidance "strikes a particularly ugly note in these straitened times."
He also said in an interview that "two things cause offence: one is reward without merit, the other is tax dodging. We have plenty of both."
Cable's aides said the VAT error had been discovered by his personal accountants in January while his tax return for the previous year was being finalised.
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Vince Cable Fined
@Michael Fallas Please reread the article Michael. It states he was let off with 50% of the penalty not his tax.
Posted by: John Smyth
Oh boy!
Either way guys – who cares. My schadenfreude is fit to burst! What joy! It highlights yet again that the members of the Gasworks should have a new coat of arms with the motto: “Do as I say, not as I do”. Evidently dishonourable members suffer from memory lapse. Forgetting to pay tax, forgetting that they have wrongly claimed expenses, forgetting that their narrow outlook has wider repercussions, whilst all the time remembering to cozy up to any one and anythinmg that has the ability to feather their nest. (And I’m not referring to the naff pension they are foisting on the public next year. Funny that they don’t chose to take it instead of their own fat cat pensions).
Posted by: Harry Katz
Vince Cable - the tax dodger
He also said in an interview that "two things cause offence: one is reward without merit, the other is tax dodging. We have plenty of both." This moron has been feted and heavily rewarded for being a master of stating the bleedin' obvious ! And now it slips his mind that he might owe £25,000 in tax. This is the business secretary we're talking about. Makes you want to scream !
Posted by: Bill Wells
OK John apologies
Sorry John. Either way should he not have paid the full penalty to set an example given the poor finances of the nation?
Posted by: Michael Fallas
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50% Discount on taxes do we all get these?
Was Mr Cable given preferential terms by HMRC with the 50% dicount he got or is this the norm? Equally as a Government minister should he not have declined the discount and set an example, especially given the sate of the UK finances?
Posted by: Michael Fallas