Over 120 wealthy British people — including former footballer Gary Lineker and music producer Brian Eno — have signed an open letter asking new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to raise taxes on the very richest. The letter was organised by a group called Patriotic Millionaires.
"We can afford it," the letter says. The signatories are clear that they are not calling for higher taxes on ordinary workers. Instead, they want a tax on income that comes from wealth itself — things like investments and assets held by the super-rich.
The group supports a 2% tax on personal wealth above £10 million. They argue that a large amount of untouched capital is sitting with the wealthiest in society and that this money could be reinvested to benefit the whole country. "We love this country and we want it to succeed," the letter states.
Other signatories include screenwriter Richard Curtis and Ian Gregg, the son of the founder of the Greggs bakery chain. Equality campaigner Gary Stevenson, a former financial trader, also put his name to the letter.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the idea of millionaires paying more, but said that major tax changes would only be announced during a Budget. She pointed millionaires towards an existing Treasury donation link.
UK Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, was more sceptical, saying Lineker is "very welcome" to write a cheque to the Treasury if he wants to pay more.
Musician Brian Eno said the current tax system is "very generous to rich people." He argued that wealthy individuals often hire accountants to reduce their tax bills, and pushed back against the claim that millionaires would simply leave the UK if taxes went up. He noted that people do not tend to leave high-tax countries like those in Scandinavia. He added that most of his wealthy peers genuinely care about public services and dislike seeing extreme poverty.
Burnham did not rule out introducing a wealth tax. He suggested he might need to "ask for a little more" at some point — leaving the door open for future action on the issue.