Clegg speaks of dream of higher taxes for high-earners

Nick Clegg has been shedding light on his vision of increasing the income tax burden on Britain's highest earners, in the name of enhancing social mobility and fairly distributing wealth and property.The deputy prime minister explained his plans for an "open society" in a presentation in Westminster yesterday to influential think-tank, Demos. He said that his party's approach to taxation is to solidify the distinction between "earned income and unearned wealth"."Wealth inequality is very much greater than income inequality and widening," the Lib Dem leader said. "The bottom third of households hold just three per cent of the nation's wealth. The top third hold three quarters of it. This inequality of wealth then cascades down the generations, potentially widening the opportunity gap."He said that the key ways of addressing this matter would be to raise capital gains tax and cut the income tax rate for 'ordinary' working families. Clegg added that, ideally, he would like to push his agenda of "fiscal liberalism" even further to lower the tax put on "work and effort" and initiate an higher overall tax contribution from Britain's wealthiest. He added that the Government would also be keeping a sharp eye on the financial sector "to block any irresponsible payments, or any rewards for failure", particularly in the institutions in which the Government is a major shareholder.

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