W/E round-up: Tories 'would scrap 50p tax rate'

The shadow chancellor said the Conservatives viewed the levy on those earning above £150,000 as "temporary". But he insisted the rate could not be axed until a public sector pay freeze proposed by the party comes to an end in two years' time. Interviewed by business leaders in the News of the World, Mr Osborne said: "I am not in favour of ever-higher tax rates - they are a disincentive to people who want to get on in life. "I regard the 50p rate as a temporary feature of the tax system. For a would-be Chancellor to say temporary is a clear statement." Full story...