‘Nick Clegg goes after the ultra-rich’ is how the Telegraph today trails its interview with the Lib Dem leader, in which he signals his determination to write into law a ‘Tycoon Tax’ — a specific minimum rate of tax to ensure people are “paying their fair share” and not “massaging” the system.

(Also available on the Telegraph website here.)

Here’s an excerpt from the Telegraph interview:

The Deputy Prime Minister says he decided on the need for a tycoon tax after Mitt Romney, who is expected to be the US Republican Presidential candidate, disclosed he was paying just 13.9 per cent tax on his multi-million-dollar earnings.

Mr Clegg said: “You hope that kind of thing doesn’t go on in this country. So I looked into it. There are hundreds of people earning millions per year who are barely paying 20 per cent tax, forget 40 per cent, forget 50 per cent, forget 30 per cent. They are not even paying 20 per cent. Therefore, I think it’s time that we look at what I call a tycoon tax.
“If you’re earning millions per year, if you’re able to pay an army of lawyers and accountants to basically pick and choose what tax you are paying, if you are paying as low as 25, 20 per cent or even less in tax, there should be a minimum fair share that you should pay to society. It makes people so incredibly angry when you are getting up early in the morning, working really hard to try and do the right thing for your family and for your community, you are paying your taxes and then you see people literally in a different galaxy who are paying extraordinarily low rates of tax.”

In today’s interview, Mr Clegg said that he would like to see a minimum tax rate written into law in Britain but was undecided on the figure. However, it is understood the level could be set between 20 and 30 per cent.

* Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.