As well as the "stick" of higher taxes, Cable said executive pay could also be affected – but said he was disappointed by the evidence of links between pay and lending.
The Thick of It: "You don't need to shit yourself about it, because we're not buying it, all right - it's funded by taxes!" Cable: "I have great sympathy with the chancellor, who is being attacked for borrowing too much and borrowing too little at the same time … ".
In Leathers v. Medlock (1991), the Supreme Court found that states may treat different types of the media differently, such as by taxing cable television, but not newspapers.
Meanwhile, several California cities including Pasadena are mulling whether to tax subscribers of Netflix, Hulu and other video streaming services using existing municipal utility tax codes that initially were designed for taxing cable-television users.
The plan to raise capital gains tax is Cable's brainchild in his period as Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman.
His party leader, Nick Clegg, has opposed calls for the abolition of the top rate of tax, but Cable indicated there was a deal to be done in the runup to the budget amid pressure on the chancellor, George Osborne, from the business lobby and fellow Conservatives to scrap the measure.
"I will continue to make the case for a mansion tax," Mr Cable said.
The federal government might also be eligible to impose a tax on cable systems.
8.27pm: Q: Can you guarantee not to put up income tax or VAT? Cable says the Lib Dems would cut income tax for many people.
"The chancellor and prime minister have made it clear that if we don't get results, they have said we should take further action with tax on banks," Cable said.
