Cable: no to regional pay; Clegg: yes to taxes on wealth; Alexander: tougher tax rules

News snippets from today:

Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, the Liberal Democrat leader ruled out the possibility of the Government filling the gap in public finances through cuts to the welfare budget – something reportedly being mooted on the Conservative benches.

He said the Government would “start at the top and work down”, and was optimistic about his chances of persuading his Conservative colleagues to agree to a so-called ‘wealth tax’. [Politics Home]

Cable said that introducing regional pay was “completely unacceptable” and “terrible economics”. He said that although the Lib Dems were prepared to contemplate a measure of public sector pay flexibility in different parts of the country to help recruitment, across-the-board regional pay would be a mistake. [The Guardian]

[Danny Alexander has announced that:]

• Half a million people with property and assets worth over £1 million will come under extra scrutiny to make sure they are not cheating the taxman.
• The Government is to order new BBC Director General George Entwistle to stop its celebrities and executives using tax avoidance ploys.
• Soccer players and managers who dodge tax face fines of up to £100,000. [Mail on Sunday]