More than 120 millionaires, including former England footballer Gary Lineker and music producer Brian Eno, have written to the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, demanding higher taxes on the super-rich. “We can afford it,” the group wrote in an open letter organised by the campaign Patriotic Millionaires. “We’re not talking about higher taxes on those who get up and go to work for their income every day, but on the very richest whose income is derived from the wealth they hold.”
The letter, signed also by Notting Hill screenwriter Richard Curtis, crime writer Val McDermid, former Greggs managing director Ian Gregg and equality campaigner Gary Stevenson, calls for a “devolution of wealth and power from the very richest” to create a more equal society. Patriotic Millionaires support a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10m.
“Gary Lineker among 120 millionaires urging PM Andy Burnham to raise taxes on the wealthy, saying 'we can afford it'.”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the gesture but pointed out that wealthy individuals can already voluntarily donate money or shares to the Treasury via an online link. “I welcome the fact that people of good means are saying that they want to pay more. They can pay more,” she said. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was more blunt: “Gary Lineker is very welcome to pay more tax — he can write a cheque to the Treasury, no one is stopping him.”
Burnham, asked about a wealth tax by Lineker — formerly the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, on an annual salary of about £1.3m — days before entering Downing Street, did not rule it out, suggesting he might have to “ask for a little more” tax. Lineker, worth an estimated £30m, won an appeal against HM Revenue and Customs in 2023 over a £4.9m tax bill linked to his BBC and BT Sport income.
The letter, which argues that “success requires investment” from untaxed wealth, comes after similar campaigns in previous years. Patriotic Millionaires claim a majority of millionaires want to pay higher taxes. Whether Burnham’s government will act remains an open question — but the signatories have made clear they are ready to write a bigger cheque.