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Gary Lineker has urged Andy Burnham to impose a wealth tax on him and other millionaires.
The former footballer and Match of the Day presenter signed an open letter, along with more than 100 other millionaires, calling for the Prime Minister to increase taxes on the nation’s wealthiest people.
The letter was mocked by Reform UK as “virtue signalling” by the super-rich.
Robert Jenrick, the party’s economic spokesman, said: “If Gary Lineker and co. want to pay more, they should write a cheque to the Treasury today – no one’s stopping them.”
A Conservative Party source said: “It’s all very well for Gary Lineker to push wacky policies like this – but they always end up harming the worst-off by driving investment and jobs out of our country.”
Lineker, who walked away from his £1.3m-a-year job with the BBC in 2025, has a reported net worth of £30m as the co-founder of Goalhanger, a successful podcast production company.
He was one of 120 millionaires who signed the “Proud to Pay” letter organised by Patriotic Millionaires, a group that advocates greater equalisation in tax rates between income and assets.
Other notable signatories include Brian Eno, the musician, Richard Curtis, the director, and Gary Stevenson, a former City trader turned socialist campaigner.
‘We want you to tax us’
The letter to Mr Burnham said: “As millionaires, we have a clear message for you, our new Prime Minister: tax us. We are proud to pay and here to stay. We know that wealth and power has been concentrated in a small group for too long, at the cost of our country, its people, our democracy and our environment.
“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.
“As you decentralise political power, you should also disperse economic power.
“Extreme wealth sitting idle in the hands of a few can be put to work: reducing inequality, investing in sustainable jobs, strengthening hospitals, schools and social care, supporting entrepreneurs with the skills and infrastructure they need, and giving small businesses access to affordable finance.”
Critics of wealth taxes warn they are difficult to collect and would act as a disincentive to invest in Britain’s economy. Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, has said it would be “extremely bad” for Britain.
However, Patriotic Millionaires claimed its position was one held by the majority of high-net-worth individuals, and rejected claims it would lead to an exodus of wealthy people.
Around 30 per cent of income-tax revenue comes from the top 1 per cent of earners, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, suggesting even a small shift would have significant consequences for the Treasury.
The group said its polling showed 75 per cent of millionaires in Britain supported higher taxes for themselves and that 88 per cent were proud to live in the country.
Among its policy suggestions, the organisation has lobbied to introduce an annual 2 per cent levy on assets exceeding £10m and to equalise the rates of capital gains tax and income tax, an issue Mr Burnham has asked his team to investigate.
Lineker said: “Our fantastic country deserves all of us to get behind it. I’m proud to stand with people across the UK who want to live in a more equal society.
“Paying your fair share is a basic British value, but so many ordinary people are already paying more than they can afford. Our richest people can do more and most want to. To live up to our national values our new government must raise taxes on extreme levels of wealth for a fairer, better, more hopeful Britain.”
As the host of Match of the Day, Lineker, 65, was the best-paid presenter at the BBC for eight successive years.
He was forced to leave without a payoff in May 2025 following an anti-Semitism controversy. He had shared a video on social media criticising Israel that featured a rat emoji and made comments about Israel’s military response to the Oct 7 terror attacks.
At the time, sources said the BBC took the decision to drop him, having run out of patience with his outspoken political views. In an interview with the Radio Times last month, Lineker said he did not miss “treading on eggshells” working for the public service broadcaster.
Much of his wealth is derived from his 25 per cent stake in Goalhanger, a podcast company he co-founded in 2018.
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The production company behind “The Rest is…” podcasts has grown at an average annual rate of 321 per cent over the past three years, making it the fastest-growing business in Britain, according to the Sunday Times.
Despite having left the BBC, Lineker presented a daily show from the World Cup as part of a £14m deal between Netflix and The Rest is Football podcast. The deal has been extended to include a weekly programme covering next season’s Premier League.
Last week, in an interview for his podcast company, Lineker questioned Mr Burnham about his plans to impose a form of wealth tax. The Prime Minister said people may have to pay “a little more” because of the state of the public finances, and he would not “shy away” from difficult decisions.
When pressed on a wealth tax, Mr Burnham said: “We are going to have to work quite hard to make sure, you know, we can pay our way. At some point, that might be having to ask for a little more. But, you know, those decisions are not for now. They’re for another day.”
