Cable fined for failing to pay tax

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% 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 De...