Gary Lineker among 120 millionaires urging Andy Burnham to make them pay more tax
In a letter, the group of Patriotic Millionaires told Andy Burnham 'Tax us, we’re proud to pay'
Gary Lineker has joined more than 100 UK-based millionaires in calling for the new prime minister Andy Burnham to tax them more.
The group of millionaires wrote a letter to Burnham arguing that the government should tax the richest, whose income is derived from wealth, rather than increasing taxes on people who earn their income through work.
The letter, which was signed by 120 millionaires, including Lineker, screenwriter Richard Cutris, ex-City trader Gary Stevenson and novelist Val McDermid, said: “We want you to tax us. We can afford it.
“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 group said that as Burnham decentralises political power, “you should also disperse economic power”.
They said that their wealth can be used to reduce inequality, invest in sustainable jobs, hospitals, schools and social care, and to support entrepreneurs and small businesses to access affordable finance.
“Our wealth is our country’s secret weapon – let’s get serious about using it,” they said.
People who are against a wealth tax often deploy the argument that there will be an “exodus of millionaires” if they are made to pay more.
The letter dispels this argument, stating that some have “outdated economic thinking” and “few others [are] desperate to hold onto every penny they can. But they are a minority.”
A 2% tax on people with over £100 million in wealth would affect fewer than 1,000 of the richest UK households, and generate £10 billion per year, academics at King’s College London and the Paris School of Economics have told Burnham.
Burnham has said he won’t rule out introducing a wealth tax.
However, speaking with Lineker on his podcast last week, Burnham said he would “properly look at the state of things” before considering a wealth tax. He also said he didn’t want to come in and “create new divisions and pitch people one and against another”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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