Lib Dems call on George Osborne to pay capital gains tax

From The Daily Telegraph comes news of pressure on Conservative MP George Osborne over his use of MPs’ expenses:

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, is facing demands to “pay back” £55,000 in capital gains tax, which critics say he is morally obliged to pay after “flipping” his designated second property.

The Liberal Democrats said they had calculated how much capital gains tax Mr Osborne avoided by the way he designated his London family home. They called on David Cameron to force him to pay it back.

The Tory leader has clamped down heavily on backbench Tory MPs who have abused the expenses system, but he has yet to censure a senior member of his inner circle…

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “This is a real test of Mr Cameron’s leadership. He blackballed his country gentlemen with their moats and duck houses before their feet could touch the ground. But will he make his shadow chancellor pay back this tax?’’