the Prime Minister said he would deliver “lower” rates of tax as soon as the economic conditions allowed.
Mr Cameron indicated that the new 50p rate of income tax could be scrapped if it was shown that it was failing to bring in sufficient revenue.
He said he still believed that inheritance tax was unfair and suggested that tax breaks for married couples would be introduced next year.
The Prime Minister’s support for lower taxes in the long term was designed to reassure traditional Conservative voters facing a series of tax rises. Capital gains tax on the sale of second homes and shares is expected to double imminently, while motorists and holidaymakers also face higher levies.
Speaking in Paris during his first official overseas visit, the Prime Minister said: “I absolutely do believe in a lower tax country and I want to deliver lower marginal rates of tax. The problem is the appalling budget deficit. I am still a low-tax Conservative. Born one; lived one; will die one.”
In his first major newspaper interview since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Cameron indicated that George Osborne, the Chancellor, would scrap the new 50p rate if an analysis of the revenues being raised from the levy showed that it was counter-productive. Many accountants and financial experts predicted that revenues would be low as high earners avoided paying the top rate or left the country.
“We will always be looking at the yields from different taxes to see whether they are effective and efficient,” said Mr Cameron. “I have always had my doubts that 50p will yield a lot of money. But the great thing about being in office is we can give you the figures now. Let’s have a look and see.
“We don’t like high marginal rates of tax. They are not good for the country, but we always had a queue and the [front of] the queue is cutting tax for the low paid.”
Next week, the Government will begin unveiling detailed policies. On Monday, Mr Osborne will set out how he intends to cut public spending by £6 billion this year.
The Queen’s Speech on Tuesday is expected to outline more than a dozen pieces of legislation that will be introduced over the next 18 months. These will include plans to give schools more freedom and release hospitals from dozens of “intrusive” Labour measures.
Mr Cameron said he and his deputy, Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, were confident of running a more effective government than Tony Blair and Gordon Brown — despite the unusual circumstances that pushed them together.
“I can put my hand on my heart and say that I really never thought that I would end up in a coalition Government. I always thought that minority government was much more likely,” the Prime Minister said. “[But] I think we are two relatively practical and reasonable people. We have some very big differences but we do share some important values and we’ve been able to put together this coalition government in very quick time. It’s very substantial.”
He insisted that Conservative supporters should be optimistic about the coming years. “I’m a glass half-full man,” Mr Cameron said. “In fact, in this case the glass is seven eighths full, nine tenths full. Because look at the cap on immigration, the European referendum lock, the £6 billion of cuts, the ending of Labour’s jobs tax, the internal market in the NHS, free schools, academies by the autumn, all of the green economy stuff. It is a huge programme.”
However, the Prime Minister did express regret over his failure to scrap inheritance tax for everyone other than millionaires.
“Only millionaires should pay inheritance tax,” he said. “I’m absolutely clear on that. As the economy recovers and as house prices continue to rise you will find people getting caught by the inheritance net that should not be there.”
However, he was confident of introducing tax breaks for married couples next year. “Watch this space,” he said.
Mr Cameron insisted that the Government would extradite foreign criminals posing a risk to Britain. “The first part of my job is keeping the country safe and you’re not safe if you have people who are threatening your country who you cannot either monitor [or deport],” he said.
He also said his proposals for fixed-term parliaments that could be dissolved only if 55 per cent of MPs voted in favour were right. He said he had “yet to hear a better answer” as to how set parliaments could be secured.
Mr Cameron also refused to back down in his battle with his own backbenchers, saying the 1922 Committee “wasn’t really working terribly well” and meetings were often “very thinly attended”. But he admitted that he would have to engage far more with his own MPs if the coalition government was to succeed.
He said he intended to holiday with his family this summer and was happy for Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister, to run the country in his absence.
His comments came amid growing turmoil on financial markets over fears about the prospects for the euro as several European countries struggled with large debts.
During meetings yesterday with President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Cameron ruled out British taxpayers helping in a eurozone bail-out.
He also risked a diplomatic row by pledging to veto any treaty giving the European Union more powers to deal with the euro crisis.
